reader Posted September 1, 2019 Posted September 1, 2019 From Katmandu Post Uses of hyperbole or over-exaggeration are quite common for parents to impress or soothe their kids. While still a child Rahul Moktan took one such statement from his father literally which paved his way to pursue Muay Thai. “Muay Thai fighters are so strong, they can knock down a tree with a single kick,” Moktan recalls his father as saying. Upon hearing his father’s words, a young Moktan wanted to become a Muay Thai fighter himself possessing such massive power. Moktan now has over 10 years of Muay Thai playing experience. “Yes, a Muay Thai fighter can bring down a tree. But it has got to be a lean banana tree. Not the big ones I believed during my childhood,” Moktan says with a big laughter. At the end of 2008, Moktan was in India pursuing his studies where he found himself with the freedom he never had. “I had no one to control me. I was not in a position to distinguish right or the wrong. I could do whatever I wanted to do and go wherever I wanted to go. I actually loved that new-found freedom,” he recalls. But as time passed, Moktan realised he wandered off too much without any purpose or meaning in life. He says he lacked discipline in his life but fortunately, he realised his mistakes. He knew he was not very good at studies. So he turned his attention on martial arts. “I didn’t plan to go pursue Muay Thai but I was good at sports and was fascinated especially by the martial arts,” Moktan said. He looked for a proper training centre to realise his martial arts dream but could not find one. A few months later he came in contact with Edgar Noosdanus, a Dutch national married to an Indian woman. Edgar, a Muay Thai trainer, for the first time, introduced Moktan to the sport. He trained Moktan and also suggested him to go to Thailand—the country of origin of Muay Thai—for proper training. Moktan duly took the suggestion and went to Thailand. There was no turning back ever since. Moktan came back to India after completing his training and upon the suggestion of his gym owner, started to train others too. In 2014, he returned to Nepal and started Gymkhana Muay Thai in 2017. Moktan now trains Muay Thai fighters at Gymkhana. His fitness centre recently organised its first Muay Thai and boxing competition and received rave reviews. Twelve fighters took part in three different weight categories-60, 65, 70 kg-in semi-professional rules in five rounds. Players were invited to take part in the fight and their opponents were chosen based on their past performance. “Any combat sports in dangerous so we thought about getting permission from the governing body. We informed about our intention to the sports governing body—Nepal National Muay Thai Association—and got the green signal,” said Moktan. But Moktan still believes there is a lot that needs to be done in the sport. “What always pinches me is that I am in this sport for over a decade and it took me so long to organise a tournament. “But I feel really proud knowing that we were able to organise such an event in just two years since establishing the Gymkhana,” said Moktan. Moktan said they will try to make up for the lost time and, encouraged by the reviews their first tournament received, plan to organise a fight every three months. He hopes such tournaments will give a proper platform to aspiring Muay Thai fighters. Continue with photos https://kathmandupost.com/sports/2019/08/31/muay-thai-is-gradually-gaining-momentum-in-nepal vinapu 1 Quote
