He was accompanied by the HSTB Secretary General Alan Mijić, head of the profession, Vice President and member of the HSTB Board of Directors Siniša Andrijašević, who also enjoys the status of the most successful Croatian fighter, then national team coach Ivan Rudan, his hardworking assistant Marko Žaja and friend and supporter of the Federation, Lieutenant General Mate Laušić. The occasion was very festive - Secretary General of the Croatian Olympic Committee Krajač congratulated our representatives in Thai boxing on seven senior medals (three of them gold), which they brought from the IFMA Senior World Championships in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) in early June.
The world gold in women's senior competition was won by Lucija Bilobrk and Helena Jurišić, as well as Ivan Bertić in younger age category (U-23). Silver medal went to Vito Košar (U-23), while Vito Stojčić won bronze in the same age category. Toni Čatipović and Petar Drežnjak brought home bronze medals won in senior category in Abu Dhabi. Due to sports and student obligations, only four medalists attended the reception at the NOC of Croatia and Secretary General of the NOC of Croatia presented all of them the commemorative gifts.
- I am always happy when we are visited by the representatives of sports which, according to the achieved results, deserve a lot of attention, and one of these is Thai Boxing. Seven medals in the world competition represents truly a very significant achievement. In addition, we also must praise the Federation leadership that brought the HSTB back to its feet and stabilized it, after a crisis period in which the Federation was threatened with financial collapse – reads the message of the first operative of Croatian sports Sinisa Krajač.
Thanks to the reception and support of the Croatian Olympic Committee, the Head of the Croatian Thai Boxing Federation Mario Franić gave the Secretary General of the NOC of Croatia a representative jersey.
The Croatian Thai Boxing Federation was founded on 3 November 1997 in Zagreb. The Federation is a member of the European Muaythai Federation (EMF) and the International Federation of Muaythai Associations (IFMA). Since 7 April 2006, the Federation has been a member of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF). In the late 1980s and during the wartime 1990s, Croatia was celebrated in Thai boxing by the legendary Branko Cikatić, also known as the "Croatian tiger". (NOC of Croatia/VK)
