Tunisia's Riad Rekhis and Thailand's Sakmonkhon scored emphatic wins to become the first to qualify for the World Kickboxing Championship finals to be held Paris in June next year.

Earlier Thailand's Issone Salek overcame a fighting Kamel Jamal of France to clinch the Under-60 title after a gruelling 12-round bout.

And in the midst of the fast and furious action in the ring, Abu Dhabi, by staging this first round of the World Kickboxing Championship series, scored another first in the sporting arena.

A large crowd who participated wholeheartedly cheering every kick and punch, watched this first-ever display of the fast-growing sport with Minister of Information Sheikh Abdulla bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan gracing the occasion.

The Salek-Jamal under-60 final, the only bout of the evening which was fought over the traditional distance of 12 rounds was a very closely-fought and thrilling encounter.

With the large crowd equally divided in their support to the two fighters, both Salek and Jamal did not let them down.

Frenchman Jamal, despite being six years older than the 22-year-old Thai champ, was the less experienced. And this was clearly evident as Salek, backed by his impressive record of 145 wins, four draws and 26 defeats allowed the Frenchman to go on the offensive during the first six rounds.

Later, backed by his superb kicking ability, the Thai boxer had Jamal in loads of trouble. However, Jamal, with 79 wins, one draw and four defeats did not throw in the towel and kept going until the final bell. However the judges ruled unanimously in favour of the Thai who wore the under-60 World Champion's belt.

The under-72 bouts, the main fare of Wednesday's action, also dished out very keen competitions in all the six fights.

Morocco's Marouane Staifa obliged the large pack od his supporters with a superb display. Though Slovak Jan Slama p[roved a gutsy fighter, the longer reach of the tall Moroccan helped him score crucial points and ultimately won the bout through an unanimous decision by the judges.

Staifa's opponent in the semifinals was Tunisia's Riad Rekhis who knocked out the Czech Republic's Jeri Apeltauer in the second round of the 3-round encounter.

Staifa suddenly looked totally leaden-footed against the fast-moving Rekhis.

After dominating and scoring a lot of points in the first round, Rekhis never allowed Stafia any respite.

In the second round, Staifa survived a count but within seconds he was again subjected to a barrage of kicks and punches by Rekhis and the referee had to stop the fight and award it to Riad Rekhis who will now be in Paris for the world finals.

The second group also produced one knockout and one went the distance.

Thailand's Sakmonkhon, was sharper and fitter and demonstrated his country's stronghold on the sport. His opponent, Abdinour Ait-Chikh of Algeria just could not match Sakmonkhon's superiority and could not progress beyond the second round.

The winner of the only remaining bout, Baker Barakat of Syria also performed strongly to score over Senegal's Ibrahim Camara and set up an intriguing clash with Sakmonkhon.

Both Barakat and Sakmonkhon went on the offensive with the short-statured Syrian looking for an opening. But Sakmonkhon, despite being at the receiving end, absorbed the strong punches and let his kicks earn him points.

The second was more evenly-matched but in the third, Sakmonkhon's fitness and superior kicks proved decisive. Barakat, tired and soon could not move as much as the Thai, who unleashed a series of kicks to the shoulder and face of the Syrian before earning the judges' decision. Sakmonkhon joins Rekhis in the final at Paris.

The other three cities to host the remaining three rounds are Bangkok in December, Las Vegas in February 2003, and Amsterdam in April with Paris hosting the finale on June 31.

Wednesday's Abu Dhabi leg was sponsored by the Abu Dhabi Sports Channel in association with chief organiser Sami Kebchi.

Air tickets to various destinations and mobile phones were later raffled away to the spectators.

The results:

Under-60kgs category final:
and Issone Salek of Thailand defeated Kamel Jamal of France. (Unanimous decision by judges)

Under-72 kgs:
Quarterfinals:

Group A
Marouane Staifa (Morocco) beat Jan Slama (Slovakia) - Unanimous Decision
Riad Rekhis (Tunisia) knocked out Jeri Apeltauer (Czech Republic)

Group B:
Sakmonkhon (Thailand) knocked out Abdinour Ait-Chikh (Algeria)
Baker Barakat (Syria) beat Ibrahim Camara (Senegal) Unanimous Decision.

Semifinals:
Riad Rekhis (Tunisia) beat Marouane Staifa (Morocco) by Technical Knockout
Sakmonkhon (Thailand) beat Baker Barakat (Syria)- Unanimous Decision
Riad Rekhis (Tunisia) and Sakmonkhon (Thailand) qualified for the world finals in Paris.