Not many people may have heard of Muay Thai – the centuries-old martial art from Thailand. But for T Madhu from the neighbourhood, it defines who he is.
The 37-year-old from Mugappair West started learning Muay Thai only at the age of 24. Enamoured by the sport, he honed his skills and decided he would become a coach and make it popular among the youth.
Today, he is the co-founder and general secretary of the Tamilnadu Muay Thai Association. Speaking to News Today about his journey, Madhu said, “My grandfather was a boxer. So, I also wanted to get into some kind of combat sport. I tried out kickboxing, but got more interested in Muay Thai since it involved more attack.”
To learn the nuances of Muay Thai from the experts, Madhu travelled to Nagaland where it is hugely popular. There he trained at the National Muay Thai Federation, the parent body of the sport in India.
Though Madhu started late, he was a quick learner and bagged a medal within a year at the Mizoram National Muay Thai Junior and Senior Championship.
Madhu said, “At this point, I wanted to get fully involved in Muay Thai and make it a career. I attended the Tamilnadu referee selection and became a referee and later progressed to become a technical official in 2012.”
Around the same time, Madhu also trained simultaneously for the Asian Championship and won a silver medal, his most impressive victory yet.
Madhu says that he earnestly began concentrating on coaching after this and wanted to spread it down south in Chennai. So, he formed the 2012 Tamilnadu Muay Thai Association with C S Pushkaran as president.
Through the association, he started identifying talent in the south and started training them.
Madhu said, “When I started there was no proper training as the sport was not popular. So, I decided to get into coaching. I saw a few academies that give importance to money, but, I want to give importance to Muay Thai. I want to identify students struggling in their life and lift them up through Muay Thai.”
“Moreover, unlike Karate or Taekwondo that use only blocking technique, Muay Thai uses punches, kicks, elbows and knees. So even men and women who are lean can protect themselves more effectively,” he says.
His efforts bore fruit when Madhu’s students – Aishwarya – Gold (Junior), Arunachalam – Gold (Senior) and Latish Balaji (Silver – Senior)- he trains at the Fusion Academy in Mugappair, won laurels at the National Muay Thai Championship in Pune this month.
Prakash, the owner of the academy, was one of the first people who helped Madhu realise his dream of becoming a Muay Thai champ by arranging money for his first tournament. Madhu also credits his sister, who loaned her jewels to enable him to compete in tournaments, start his career as a coach and launch his own academy.
“I want the government to give more recognition for Muay Thai. Since it is not in the Olympics, the incentives that the government gives for the Muay Thai champs are less. We don’t get scholarships and seats in colleges and jobs like other sportspersons. The government should treat all sports as equal,” says Madhu.
You can reach Madhu at 98846 79787.