Nairobi, Thursday @PeopleSport11
Three budding Kenyan Muay Thai fighters landed in Phuket, Thailand on Thursday morning ready to live, train and fight at the home of the sport in their bid to secure a ticket to represent their country at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Hailing from disadvantaged backgrounds in the sprawling slums of Nairobi, Brian Serete (18), Martin Achebi (18) and Javan Buyu (20) departed Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Wednesday evening to Thailand where they aspire to get battle-hardened for the forthcoming Tokyo 2020 qualifiers.
The trio who train locally at the Ultra Fitness Gym under the guidance of seasoned martial arts coach, Maurice Odera received a huge boost when technology and entertainment business firm, SportPesa, facilitated their trip to Thailand as part of their expanded sports development agenda. “I have no other means of earning a living. I turned to this sport since I come from a family of little means. I started training at a gym called Coliseum every Saturday but we were chased away.
“A friend of Maurice, Kevin Muruka, a fighter introduced me to the coach who picked me and started sharpening my skills and got me my first fight. I became interested in sport and I want to use it to get my family out of Kibra,” Selete who has roots in the biggest slum in sub saharan Africa said ahead of departure.
“I started engaging in martial arts for self defence in kick boxing aged nine. I had no means to access good training facilities and I competed for the first time when I turned 11.
“I started watching and being interested in Muay Thai after watching YouTube and I wondered where I would get the chance to engage in the sport.” – SPORTPESA
