NOT JUST A COMBAT SPORT

In a special series, Play of the Month, The Sunday Times' sports desk will dive into a sport. Every month this year, an expert in a sport will provide tips for readers. The September spotlight is on muay thai.

- Deepanraj Ganesan

When Winnia Leow first picked up muay thai as a 15-year-old, she had to hide it from her parents as she was afraid that they would stop her as the sport was perceived as violent and male-dominated.

Today, the 25-year-old trains young enthusiasts at martial arts gym Pineapple MMA and is one of Singapore's most exciting female prospects in the sport. The super flyweight (52kg) is also 17th in the World Boxing Council (WBC) muay thai rankings.

Leow, who had her first amateur fight at 18, won the WBC Muay Thai MuayYing Prestige Championship after beating Hong Kong's Penny Fung at the Royal Thai Embassy in Singapore on Aug 31.

Her growth in the martial art, along with muay thai's transformation from a traditionally male-dominated discipline to a fitness activity embraced by people of all ages and genders, highlight its global rise. Leow noted that it has become increasingly mainstream, driven by fitness influencers and gyms promoting it for conditioning and self-defence, not just for combat.

Leow said: "Back then, there were not many girls doing the sport and for any girl looking to get into it, it would have been very daunting. Your training partners were men.