Pri 2 boy has muay thai win under his belt

While his peers attend tuition classes or learn to play a musical instrument, Qarizh Fadel Mohammad Fadeli would be sparring in a muay thai ring.

The eight-year-old has even won a professional bout in Thailand.

Madam Nur Qasidah Kamijan, 30, told The New Paper that her son's passion for the martial art could have been influenced by her husband's and her love for One Championship.

"I want to represent Singapore in One Championship," said Qarizh.

The couple also train in muay thai and have attended both Fit Muay Trainer foundation and Level 1 courses, where they learnt pad holding techniques so they could train their children at home.

When Qarizh was two years old, his parents saw that he was good at kicking and punching pillows, so they trained him with a punching bag at home as there were no muay thai classes for toddlers.

Qarizh went to his first muay thai trial at a gym when he was five, alongside his then four-year-old sister Qarirah Fadelia Mohammad Fadeli.

He started with basic muay thai before progressing to more intensive and advanced training, which included technical sparring to develop his fight IQ. He also underwent strength training and conditioning to improve his physique.

Qarizh and Qarirah received formal training for about two years and fought at Elite Sparring Exhibition in February last year.

They will be fighting later this month at Johor Muaythai Championship 2025 and Qarizh will also fight in the Amateur Muaythai Championship Singapore Series 5 on Feb 22.

The Primary 2 boy defeated his Thai opponent by knockout in the first of three rounds at Legend Fight Night in Nakhon Si Thammarat last November when he was 7.

Qarizh and his family fought in the Elite Sparring Exhibition bout, which Madam Qasidah described as a memorable experience.

"We shared the ring with our kids," she recounted.

"It was our first fight together as a family."

Madam Qasidah's focus now is on her children, especially Qarizh with his upcoming fights.

"We will give our full support to whatever he is passionate about," she said.

"His ultimate goal is to represent Singapore in One Championship, just like his muay thai idols Rodtang (Thailand) and Johan Ghazali (Malaysia)."