Warwick Thai boxing society crowned national champions for second year running

Earlier this month, the University of Warwick were crowned national champions at the annual Muay Thai GB University Championships for the second consecutive year, having scored a total of 26 overall cup points across the day.

As the first ever university to officially host this tournament, Warwick Thai boxing society were also awarded a £1,300 kit sponsorship for their tremendous efforts.

The Warwick Tab was invited to attend the event, so I had exclusive access to chat with fighters and athletes.

Hosted at Warwick’s Sports and Wellness Hub, the day started around 10am with weigh-ins and medical checks for all fighters taking part. The fights themselves started at midday, with a variety of categories to accommodate all ability levels.

There were five rings in total, with fights continuously taking place in each one. With over two hundred and eighty athletes entered for the championships and hundreds of spectators, the atmosphere was incredible and the pressure was high.

The Warwick Tab spoke to Warwick Thai boxing society’s current president, Riva Harsiani, about how her and her club had been preparing for the event of the year. Riva told The Warwick Tab: “Muay Thai GB holds an annual university championship and this year we’ll be hosting them because we submitted a really good bid and everyone was really down to help out, we’ll be hosting it in the Sports Hub today. It’s gonna be a day of really good bouts and a lot of fun for everyone involved.”

“I’m feeling really good. This is going to be my fourth decision now so looking forward to it. Training’s been good – I’ve actually been the only one who hasn’t had to lose any weight so I’ve just been eating while everyone else has been cutting, but the training’s been intense: Five to six times a week and running at least twice a week. Everyone’s been really locked in so I’m excited to see all the effort pay off today.”

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Tom Hutchings, one of Warwick Thai boxing’s captains, has been actively involved in training the Warwick team for the past academic year. The Tab spoke to him and how he was feeling, with multiple of his own fighters taking on the ring:

“It’s been amazing, everyone’s really been putting in the grind, training four to five times a week which has been absolutely incredible; hitting the assault bikes, doing the long runs, the fast runs with the fight team on Fridays. It’s been intense but I’m confident that our team are gonna do really well.”

“Warwick Thai boxing is of course the best society. We’re the second largest sport society on campus, but I think there’s nothing better than Thai boxing honestly. The confidence you gain from it, the running, the socialising, the events – we’re the best society on campus for sure.”

Other Warwick athletes preparing for their fights included Aanya Narbheram and Sara Hama, WTB’s Women’s Captain and Events Secretary respectively.

Aanya told The Warwick Tab: “It’s been very stressful, I think the worst bit has been the cut, but we’ve all done it together. It’s been good. Lots of training, more training than I’ve ever done, but I feel ready.”

Sara said: “The training’s been intense, we’ve had like four to five training sessions a week. Honestly it’s sometimes been terrible but it’ll be worth it and we’ll have fun today.”

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