In attendance were main event competitors Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam of Sweden and undefeated Tyler McGuire of the United States. Both Kadestam and McGuire will be competing for the vacant ONE Welterweight World Championship.

Also in attendance at the Open Workout were ONE Championship athletes Nieky Holzken, Cosmo Alexandre, Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol, and Angelie Sabanal.

Zebaztian Kadestam, ONE Athlete, stated: “I feel extremely confident heading into this next bout. I have learned many lessons from my experience in competing for the title against Ben Askren a year ago. Now, I have come out as a much improved martial artist. There are a lot of things that I can still improve on, and I’m getting better everyday. I’ve been training hard, and I feel good, so I feel confident in this fight. Tyler McGuire is a strong guy with good stamina. The first couple of rounds is going to be tough, so I have to be careful. He’s going to try to take me down, but I’ve prepared my defense well. Then it’s just a matter of going out there and having fun. I’m used to things being rough and tough. I’ve never had an easy fight in my whole career.”

Tyler McGuire, ONE Athlete, stated: “To receive the opportunity to win a World Title in ONE Championship is an absolute honor. It means you are among the world’s best. I have prepared very hard for this fight, and now I want to showcase the results of my hard work. Zebaztian Kadestam is a real tough guy, and I know he’s going to come to fight. That’s exactly what I want and I don’t expect anything less. I know he thinks I can’t hurt him with my striking, but my striking is underrated. Let’s see. I consider myself a complete martial artist. Of course, my main arsenal is still my ground game, and if there is an opportunity to take him down, I’ll maximize it. But if we are going to stand up and trade, then I’m prepared for that.”

Former PXC Welterweight Champion Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam started training in Muay Thai when he was 12 years old and later embarked on a highly successful professional career in the sport.

Soon, he explored other disciplines, as he trained at the Pancrase Gym in Stockholm, and also traveled to the Philippines to sharpen his skills at the Legacy Gym in Boracay under famed martial artist Ole Laursen.

Though he was unsuccessful in a bid for the welterweight title against former champion Ben Askren, Kadestam does own two high-profile victories over top contenders Luis Santos and Agilan Thani. His latest performance against Thani saw Kadestam exhibit his incredible striking skills to finish the young Malaysian by TKO. Up next, Kadestam takes on Tyler McGuire for the vacant ONE Welterweight World Championship.

Undefeated American mixed martial artist Tyler McGuire of Washington, USA, is a submission specialist who trains out of Sik-Jitsu Fighting Systems in Spokane. With an unblemished 11-0 professional record, the 32-year-old owns seven victories by way of submission.

Known for his ability to display creative grappling techniques, McGuire finds himself travelling halfway across the globe to Asia, where he plans to showcase his skills on the global stage of martial arts competition. In his most recent outing, McGuire took on the dangerous Luis Santos in a tough three-round battle to win via unanimous decision.

The performance was impressive enough to earn McGuire a title shot, as he takes on Zebaztian Kadestam in Jakarta for the vacant ONE Welterweight World Championship.

Thirteen-year-old Anucha Tasako collapsed after his opponent, who is about the same age, delivered the blows at a charity fight in Samut Prakan province, near Bangkok, on Saturday.

He died later of a brain haemorrhage, according to police, and relatives were grieving beside his coffin at a temple pavilion Wednesday before his body is cremated.

His portrait was perched in the middle of one of many pink and white wreaths.

Those who knew him were sombre but did not seek to cast blame for his death.

“I’m not mad at the referee or the other boy,” his uncle Aphichati Wannaphakdi, 59, told AFP on the second day of the funeral. “It happens in sports.”

Coach Somsak Deerujijaroen described him as a “clever” boxer with good technique who inspired others.

“Other small boxers look up to him as an idol,” he added.

Thai boxing is hugely popular in the country and many fighters enter the sport at a young age in search of fame and fortune.

But the involvement of Thai youngsters — who sometimes start under 10 years of age in bouts that see kicks and elbows to the head with no protective gear — has stirred frequent criticism.

More so as the young fighters are often family breadwinners from poor families and matches are subject to frenzied ringside gambling.

Smartphone footage shown by local media captured the grim moment Anucha hit the canvas as assistants quickly rushed into the ring to help the motionless boy, who fought under the alias Phetmongkol Sor Wilaithong.

Domestic media said he had been fighting since he was eight and had competed in more than 150 bouts.

His opponent, Nitikron Sonde, took to Facebook to express his sorrow at the death.

“I regret it,” he posted on Tuesday, “but I have to do my duty to win so I can make enough money to sponsor my education.”

Neither fighter was wearing protective headgear.

A bill to prevent minors below the age of 12 from taking part is under consideration, and has already received fresh momentum in the aftermath of the death.

The number two in Thailand’s junta, Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, expressed condolences and instructed the sports ministry “to consider the suitability” of the draft bill, a defence ministry spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.

Outrage and anger poured in as footage of the young fighter’s death spread online, with some arguing the referee could have stepped in to end it sooner.

“He could barely stand. Why didn’t the referee stop the fight but let him continue to be hit until he was knocked down,” one Thai Facebook user said.

Others defended the practice of starting fighters young.

“I don’t agree with the draft law to totally ban boxers who are under 12 years old because 99 percent of the famous Thai boxers and Olympic winners began fighting when they were young,” Thai Olympic medalist Tawee Umpornmaha, 59, told AFP, describing the boy’s death as an accident.

“I began at 12 with more than 200 fights. The question is do we have proper safety measures? We must give importance to safety measures including field doctors,” he said.

Djokovic is chasing a sixth ATP Finals title and his first in the prestigious season-ending event at London’s O2 Arena since 2015.

In his 11th appearance at the Finals, the Serb was guaranteed to reach the last four for the eighth time after Marin Cilic beat John Isner 6-7 (2/7), 6-3, 6-4 in Wednesday’s second match.

Djokovic, who beat Isner in his opening group-stage match, has enjoyed a remarkable renaissance in the second half of 2018 and lifting the trophy on the banks of the River Thames would be the perfect way to finish his year.

Djokovic faces Cilic in his last group match on Friday, while Zverev, who defeated Cilic to kick off his Finals campaign, takes on Isner.

The 31-year-old was assailed by claims he had lost his hunger for success and was past his best after injury and personal issues threatened to derail his career in 2017.

But Djokovic has banished his demons in spectacular style, winning the Wimbledon and US Open titles, returning to world number one and becoming the first player to win all nine Masters 1,000 tournaments.

“I found it more difficult than in the first match against John Isner. I played well midway through the second set and started to swing through the ball,” said Djokovic, who has suffered only two defeats in the Finals since 2012.

“Zverev has a big first serve, but his percentage dropped in the second set. That allowed me to step in. He made a lot of unforced errors which helped me to win.

“I am going to enjoy some quality time with my family and then get ready for the last game in the group.”

Zverev is emerging as one of the Tour’s brightest young stars after climbing to fifth in the world.

– Thunderous –

The 21-year-old shocked Djokovic in the Rome final last year, but the Serb was on top when they met in a one-sided Shanghai semi-final last month and it was the same story again in their third meeting.

Zverev was able to keep Djokovic at bay with his thunderous serve at the start of the first set.

Neither player faced a break point in the first eight games and even when Zverev earned the first two in the ninth, Djokovic found a way to scramble out of trouble on both occasions.

It was a crucial escape for the 14-time Grand Slam champion, who stepped up the pressure on Zverev to steal a hard-fought first set.

Zverev saved a pair of set points with an overhead smash and a bullet serve, but Djokovic wouldn’t back down and a double-fault from the German finally surrendered the set.

The high-quality encounter reached a crescendo when Djokovic pummelled Zverev into submission in the fourth game of the second set.

A series of blistering ground-strokes from the Serb kept Zverev pinned back and, while he battled gamely, the pressure eventually told as Djokovic broke.

That was the signal for Djokovic to sprint to victory and he broke again in the sixth game before completing an impressive statement of intent.

Djokovic had to wait a few hours to learn of his progress to the last four, which was confirmed thanks to a gritty fightback from former Wimbledon finalist Cilic.

The Croatian fifth seed had lost nine of his previous 10 matches at the Finals, and he looked in danger of another letdown when he dropped the first set against Isner.

But Cilic, whose only other Finals victory came against Kei Nishikori in 2016, had other ideas as he roared back to take the final two sets.

“I started to feel the ball really well in the second set. I was playing great tennis towards the end,” Cilic said.

Cilic’s revival keeps him in with a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals, while American eighth seed Isner still has an outside chance of advancing despite losing his first two matches.

The Thai No 3 who just lost to the Chinese last week in Fuzhong where her opponent went on to win made a sweet revenge following a 14-21 21-10 22-20 victory. She also scored her first win over  Chen who had beaten her five times coming to the match.

Pornpawee, ranked 24^th in the world, joined sixth-seeded Ratchanok Intanon in the round of 16. The former world No 1 Ratchanok beat Sayaka Sato of Japan 20-22 21-13 21-15.

In the men’s singles actions, Thai No 1 Khosit Phetpradab settled score with India’s Sai Praneeth B., the 2017 Thailand Open champion, prevailing in three games 16-21 21-11 21-15.

Thai No 2 Kantaphon Wancharoen also advancing, picking off NG Ka Long Angus 21-15 21-16.

The 27-year-old became the first Thai ever to score a double hat-trick in the Cup’s history and is now the tournament’s top scorer, with Malaysian Norshahrul Idlan next on three goals from two matches, against Cambodia and Laos.

“It’s never my priority,” said the Muangthong United forward when asked if he longed to finish the tournament as its top scorer. “I’m more interested in helping the team to win the tournament, which is something  I missed two years ago.”

Injury problems denied the Buriram-based player the chance to join the team two years ago when Thailand won their fifth Cup.

“Every time I get the chance to play with the team, I just want to make every effort out there to achieve our goal together. I never concentrate on any personal award,” he added.

The striker earlier this year underwent an operation on his left knee injury and admitted he still fears it flaring up again.

“I’m still not playing my best as I try to play it safe when I’m on the pitch,” he said. “I learned from the past how to protect myself as I don’t want to be in that situation again.”

Meanwhile, midfield Sanrawat Dechmitr is urged Thai fans to show their support in Saturday’s game against Indonesia at the Rajamangala National Stadium.

Around 10,000 fans turned out in the game with Timor last week, while around 5,000 Garuda fans from Indonesia are expected this weekend at the 60,000 capacity stadium. According to Thai Ticket Major, 23,300 tickets have been sold for the Thailand-Indonesia game.