Local Thai boxing club to represent GB at World Muay Thai Championships in March

Sixteen members of Valley Thai Boxing, based at Spodden Mill, Whitworth, will be flying to Thailand next month to compete in the WMF World Muay Thai Championships after raising nearly £6,000 to go on the trip.

Head coach Andy Hughes said: “I will be the oldest competitor from the club at 40 and the youngest fighter is nine-years-old.”

Last year four club members competed and brought home a gold medal, three silvers and a bronze medal.

Andy expects a much bigger medal haul this year with his dedicated team of fighters who have been working extremely hard in preparation for the competition.

Valley Thai Boxing has a number of fights shows coming up and is hosting a fight night at The Ashcroft in Whitworth on Saturday 22 February where some of the talented fighters who are going to Thailand will face some of the great fighters the sport has to offer from across the country.

The fight nights have helped to raise money to send the members on this trip and and other clubs in the region have supported Valley by participating.

 

 

Three members of the team are students at Whitworth Community High School; Finlay Hudson, 16, Joe Copley, 16, and Harris Ashman, 15.

Finlay, from Waterfoot, said: “I will be competing in the age 16 60kg fights. I have been fighting for about four years and have won three England titles and a European title.

“Since we found out we had got places, we have been getting sponsorship and holding fundraising events as a group.”

He is delighted to have got a place and said he was ‘buzzing’ and couldn’t wait to take on the world’s best in the ring.

The 20th World Muay Thai Championship will take place in Bangkok, Thailand, from 9-19 March.

Harris, from Whitworth, has been seriously boxing for about two years and competed in the 48kg category.

He said: “I am a little bit nervous about the competition but I am training every day.

While Joe, from Bacup, is competing in the age 16 54kg category and said he was excited to go to Thailand, but the competition, in March, is just before his GCSE exams.

He said: “I think my category will be really competitive. I have been boxing for three years and fighting for two. It has given me more and more confidence and for me it is just a bit of fun.”

Finlay agreed that getting involved in the sport has also boosted his confidence and now the younger members of the club look up to him

The Valley Thai team train six days a week and are actively out competing most weekends and are well respected on the UK Muay Thai circuit with their successful junior and adult fight team.
 

Caption

Whitworth Community High School Muay Thai Boxers, from left, Joe Copley, Finlay Hudson and Harris Ashman in training for the World Championships in Thailand.

 

The team from Valley Thai Boxing who are heading to the World Championships in Thailand.