Israeli athletes scored several major successes at the world kickboxing championships in Bosnia on Saturday, winning one gold and three silver medals in different weight categories.

Yulia Sachkov, 21, from Haifa, won the final of her under 52 kilogram weight class in K-1 style kickboxing, defeating a Czech opponent in what she described to Israeli media as “a dream come true.

“Something always went wrong in the past - this time, everything worked out perfectly.”

Ms Sachkov, who serves in the IDF, said that the army “does everything so that I can attend every practice and every tournament.”

In addition, female kickboxers Shir Cohen and Daniella Pashayev, 19 and 18 respectively, won silver medals in their weight divisions for KL and LK kickboxing styles. Or Moshe, a male Israeli kickboxer aged 19, also won a silver in his weight class for K-1 style kickboxing.

Speaking to Israeli media, Hani Sachs, head of the Israeli Kickboxing Federation, described the young athletes achievements as “historic successes.”

She praised the “unified team, with excellent coaches”, for the wins, talking about how the Israelis were “working correctly...which can be seen in the results.”

This is not the first time that a young Israeli has triumphed in the competition. In 2015, Nili Block, then 20, won gold in the under-60kg class at the championships, held that year in Serbia.