Shakhriza Khalilova is a professional martial arts athlete and world champion from Kyrgyzstan.
She started ballroom dancing when she was four years old, which allowed her to develop her competitive mindset and begin to participate (and win) competitions. Shakhriza’s experiences in dance were a stepping stone to martial arts.
In 2012, she became a World Champion in kickboxing in a competition in Anapa, Russia. Shakhriza went on to win three more kickboxing world championships in Bangkok in 2016 and 2017! Congrats! More recently, she won a Muay Thai world championship in 2018. She has represented Kyrgyzstan in both the 2017 World Games and the 2018 Asian Games.
Shakhriza has also competed in and won two World Cup championships, a silver medal in hand-to-hand combat, and a gold medal from the boxing championships in Kyrgyzstan. In 2016, she was awarded the Best Athlete of the Kyrgyz Republic!
Currently, she is working as a professional sports coach. She hopes that one day when kickboxing is an Olympic sport, she will be able to represent Kyrgyzstan in it.
Good luck!