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Less than two months before she will compete in the finals of the inaugural Jewels Under-15 kickboxing tournament, 12-year-old “Muay Thai Genius” Saya Ito added another title to her résumé this past weekend. Ito outlasted five others in a one-day competition at Top Run 2 in Osaka, Japan.

After receiving a bye into the semi-finals, Ito posted back-to-back decision victories to become Top Run Queen at 45 kilograms. Ito began training in kickboxing at the age of four and has now won over 60 times in her amateur career. She will compete again at Jewels: “17th Ring” on December 17th.

Ito (61-8-3; 19 KOs) has struggled to find opponents at times in recent years and has frequently been matched up against older fighters, including a number of male opponents. She faced fighters her own size in the Under-16 girls Top Run tournament and defeated both of her foes.

In the semi-finals, Ito needed an extension round to get past Akane Komori, but did so via Unanimous Decision. The tournament final was also close, as Ito bested Yuuki Kira via Majority Decision after one judge ruled the bout even. Kira had advanced to the finals by defeating Mayu Nagata earlier in the day.

Top Gun 2 Under-16 Queen Tournament Results:

- Tournament Final: Saya Ito defeated Yuuki Kira by Majority Decision (20-20, 20-19, 20-19).

- Semi-Final #2: Saya Ito defeated Akane Komori by Unanimous Decision (10-9, 10-9, 10-9) after an extension round. The bout was ruled a Majority Draw (20-20, 20-20, 20-19) after two rounds.

- Semi-Final #1: Yuuki Kira defeated Mayu Nagata by Unanimous Decision (20-19, 20-19, 20-19).

- Quarterfinal #2: Akane Komori defeated Ayaka Nishina by Unanimous Decision (20-18, 20-19, 20-19).

- Quarterfinal #1: Mayu Nagata defeated Fuka Tokuda by Majority Decision (20-20, 20-19, 20-19).

*As the highest tournament seeds, Ito and Kira received a bye to the semi-final round. Quarterfinal and semi-final bouts were contested over two 1:00 rounds. The tournament final used 2:00 rounds.

Ito will have an opportunity to capture the first Jewels kickboxing title to date when she returns to the promotion at “17th Ring.” Ito faces Chihiro Imoto in the final match of the Jewels Under-15 tournament at 46 kilograms. Both Ito and Imoto earned Unanimous Decision wins at Jewels: “16th Ring” last month.

Go Yamamoto contributed to this report.

(Photo Credit: GBRing.com)

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