Ruqsana Begum | |
---|---|
Born | 1983 (age 40–41) Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex, England |
Other names | Warrior Princess |
Residence | Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex, England |
Nationality | British |
Weight | 48 kg (106 lb) |
Division | Atomweight |
Style | Muay Thai Kickboxing |
Fighting out of | Bethnal Green, Tower Hamlets, London, England |
Team | British Muay Thai Team |
Trainer | Bill Judd |
Years active | 2008–present |
Occupation | Science technician |
University | University of Westminster |
Website | ruqsana-begum |
Ruqsana Begum (born 1983) is an English kickboxer. She is the current British female Atomweight (48–50 kg) Muay Thai boxing Champion and captain of the British Muay Thai Team.
Begum was born and raised in Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex, England to a family of Bangladeshi origin. She is the second eldest of four children and lives at home with her family.[1]
After studying at UzSWLU in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 2006, Begum graduated with a degree in Architecture from the University of Westminster. She was a trainee architect and was made redundant after the company she worked for made cuts.[2] She is a part-qualified architect.[3][4]
In 2002, at the age of 18, Begum took up a kickboxing class after college.[5] In 2008, she started fighting professionally.[1][2]
In 2009, Begum defeated a Malaysian opponent to win a bronze medal at the World Amateur Kickboxing Championship in Bangkok, Thailand.[2]
On 27 November 2010, in her first final, Begum defeated Paige Farrington to win the British Muay Thai Atomweight Kickboxing Championship Professional title from the Duel at the Dome contest in Doncaster.[2][4]
On 31 July 2011, Begum won a gold medal at the European Club Cup Amateur Muay Thai Championship in Latvia.[3] She beat a Finnish fighter to secure her place in the final and beat a Turkish fighter in the final to be awarded gold.[6]
On 6 September 2012, Begum was nominated as British Muay Thai Team Captain and won bronze at the International Federation of Muaythai Amateur (IFMA) World Championships in Saint Petersburg, Russia. On 9 September 2012, she beat Ranini Cundasawmy from Mauritius in the quarter-final, before losing her semi-final match, on 11 September 2012, against the European Champion, Chyslova Liudmila, from Belarus who proceeded to win silver.[4][7][8][9][10][11]
On 13 April 2013, Begum fought Silvia La Notte from Italy at the New Bingley Hall in Birmingham for the International Sport Kickboxing Association (ISKA) World Championship.[7] Although Begum was leading on points, during the 4th round the fight was abandoned after she took a knock to the head.
Begum trains under Bill Judd,[3][12] and currently fights out of the KO Gym in Bethnal Green, London.[5]
On top of her own professional commitments, Begum is a personal trainer and instructor. She also works as an instructor one night a week[3] giving free after-school[1][2] Muay Thai classes every Monday at the Lions Den Gym in Chadwell Heath, London.[13] for the children in the East End.[5]
She works part-time, two days a week, as a science technician at Swanlea School in Whitechapel, London.[2][3]
She is also coach at “Fight for Peace,” a charity which uses boxing as a prevention and rehabilitation model to confront the problem of child and youth participation in crime, gangs and gun violence within disadvantaged communities.[4][5][14][15]
In May 2012, Begum was shortlisted for the Muslim Women’s in Sport Foundation Ambassador Awards for the United Kingdom Sportswoman of the Year award held at Wembley Stadium.[16][17][18][19][20]
In January 2012, she was named in the “British Bangladeshi Power 100” for her work in education, culture and sports.[13][21] In February 2012, she won a special achievement award at the Canary Wharf Sports Awards.[22][23]
In March 2012, Begum met Queen Elizabeth II at Walthamstow Town Hall, during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee tour of the UK.[24]
After being selecting to be an Olympic torchbearer in recognition of her sporting achievements and community work, helping young people to engage in sports and giving them a focus in life[5] in the East London community.[25] On 21 July 2012, she carried the Olympic Torch in Greenwich, London.[26][27]
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