Cadiz-born Desiree Rovira, a Muay Thai fighter, acknowledges that it was “a dream and a privilege” for her to have been able to compete in the Rajadamnern, the oldest stadium in Thailand and that was banned for women.
The Andalusian achieved this milestone on August 12 by being “one of the eight women chosen” to fight in this symbolic temple of the original country of Muay Thai, an extreme contact sport known as “Thai boxing”.
She and seven other women were able to break “a historical veto” by which “the participation of women was prohibited in that stadium.” “I have fulfilled a dream, in the form of a privilege,” she stressed in statements to Europa Press.
Regarding the atmosphere of the Rajadamnern, he stressed that “it is magical”, since “it is where Muay Thai was born and the best have competed”. “When I went for the first time they didn’t allow me to be very close to the ring and not even touch it, that two weeks later they tell you that you are going to compete there is a ‘shock'”, he confessed.
For Rovira, the “important” thing about this tournament is not “the fact of participating or winning”, what has marked her the most has been “being part of the evolving Thai culture” and being able to be one of the pioneers in this opening of the mentality.
The Spanish fighter lost to the Thai Somratsamee, but that does not take away her happiness. “The icing on the cake of all this would have been to get the victory, but it couldn’t be and in all of them you can lose or win and it’s part of the sport,” she stressed.
“After viewing the competition, seeing the mistakes and also the successes, it’s time to continue working to improve”, added the Cadiz-born woman, who considers that it was a competition “that people enjoyed” and has maintained the possibility of being able to face her team again. rival.
For now, in a few weeks, Rovira will have a new confrontation against “the senior world champion of Wako K1 Kick Boxing, the Turkish Zehra Dogan, “a very strong girl.” “It is a challenge that we accept and we are working to reach the best physical conditions to leave the Spanish and Cadiz pavilion as high as possible in this tournament”, he wished.
On the other hand, about her beginnings, the 35-year-old fighter recalled that she started in the sport “by chance” at the age of 27. Prior to her career, she had never been attracted to “neither contact sports nor the arts martial”.
Thus, he has confessed that “he was going through a negative time” and, from “observing the classes that were taught at the Chok Muay Cadiz club”, owned by Carlos Coello, professional wrestler, champion of northern Thailand and his current partner in ‘7 Muay Thai Gym’, decided to go. From then on, “everything is history”.
The Cadiz-born stressed that she was “combining training with two jobs at the same time” and that as she had already assumed that “she had to invest more time in training” and the Chock Muay Cadiz, “directed today by Cadiz-born Ramon Rivera “, he had several centers “where the classes were taught”, so he changed centers “to have a better schedule and to be able to combine it with work”.
Once she was more “settled” in the sport, Rovira then decided to leave for Thailand “for a month” and at the end of 2015 they suggested she “compete in Madrid as an amateur”, which meant “a turning point” in his life.
“I wanted to stay in Thailand and compete professionally as long as I could. With the little money I had, I left my job as an interpreter, family and friends and went to Thailand temporarily to compete professionally,” she said.
Source: Europa Press
