Two young athletes from Lions Watford have begun 2019 with perfect records, accruing multiple titles on their way.

Emilia Azarova, 11, and Jude Smith, 14, compete in Muay Thai and K1 Kickboxing at the gym on Watford Business Park that specialises in Muay Thai, kickboxing and boxing and have combined for a record of 13 wins from 13 fights so far this year.

Azarova has a record of 8-0 in 2019 and has not been defeated in over a year having established herself as the number one in both Muay Thai and K1 for her age.

Already, she has won multiple opens with various sanctioning bodies, including three English Open Championships, one European Championship and, most recently, the World Kickboxing Organization Five-Nation Championships.

On her success, Azarova said: “I am super proud of myself and I thank everyone at Lions for all of their help. It’s such a great team and a fun place. I love winning and can’t wait to go again.”

Smith, meanwhile, holds a record of 5-0 and was also triumphant at the European Open in his respective category.

The highlight of the year, though, came earlier this month when he competed at the prestigious Legend Fight Series for the IKF Southern Area Title, taking a split decision win over his opponent in a hard-fought five-round bout.

In addition to the accolades the pair have already secured this year, they have also been selected to represent Team England at the upcoming World Championships in Cork, Ireland, where they will be hoping to continue their success through to the end of the year.