Throwing their first punch

As Team Singapore make their final preparations for the 28th SEA Games, TODAY explores the 36 sports in which the nation’s athletes will compete as they look to improve their 50-gold-medal haul in 1993, the last time the biennial event was held here. The focus today is on boxing and silat.

SINGAPORE — She was merely doing her bit to generate a buzz for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games that Singapore hosted in 2010, but little did Leona Hui know that her efforts would propel her into the international sporting arena.

A keen sportswoman, tennis was her main weekend activity back then, although she was also into taekwondo and had a first dan black belt. But all that changed during a road show to promote the Youth Olympics, when she put on a pair of boxing gloves to do some pad work for fun.

She caught the attention of Singapore Amateur Boxing Association (SABA) vice-president T Balasundram, who invited her to take up the sport.

One thing led to another, and four years on, Hui along with three others are on the threshold of becoming Singapore’s first women boxers to compete at the biennial event.

The 28-year-old will fight in the light flyweight category, while team-mates Ang Fen Ni, Efasha Kamarudin and Nurshahidah Roslie will battle in the flyweight, bantamweight and featherweight categories, respectively.

But the road to the Games has been an arduous one for Hui. The 1.64m boxer had to give up the sport in 2012 when work took its toll. She could return to the sport only eight months ago.

“After leaving my job two years ago, I started an events company with a partner who, fortunately, sympathised with my love for boxing,” said Hui. “When we were able to stabilise the operations of the company, she gave me time to start training again, which I did last November.

“I never knew then there would be an opportunity to box in the SEA Games. My aim was to get into competitive boxing and it was only in January I was told that SABA intended to send women boxers to the Games. The coaches said I should train to see if I was good enough to be included in the national squad.”

The SABA provided Hui with greater exposure via overseas training stints and competitions. The real test came when she had to face India’s Sarjubala Devi at the President’s Cup Boxing Tournament in Palembang, Indonesia, in April.

Fresh from bagging silver at last October’s world championships, Sarjubala is seen as India’s heir apparent to five-time amateur world champion Mary Kom. But the 22-year-old’s reputation did not intimidate Hui and the Singaporean went the full four rounds, losing only on points.

“For someone who is new to competitive boxing, Leona fought very well against a world-ranked boxer,” Balasundram told TODAY. “In fact, the Indian coaches were so impressed by her performance that they gave her the Indian Boxing Federation’s pin to honour her.”

Ang, Efasha and Nurshahidah also lost their bouts to ranked Indian, Thai and Russian fighters on points, but despite the encouraging performance, Balasundram has not given them any medal targets.

“This is our women’s first outing at the Games and I don’t want to put any pressure on them. They are good boxers and I think they are good enough to face the Thais, Indonesians and Filipinos, who traditionally produce the region’s best,” said the SABA vice-president. “If our women win anything, we will celebrate. If not, this is a test for the future.”

Hui said the women boxers are putting in “110 per cent” and have planned their training to peak at the Games. “We all want to put on a good show and finish our bouts with a place on the podium. It will be great if we can win medals, but I think what we want is to at least say, ‘Hey, our Singapore girls can fight, too’,” she added.

“It is about making our coaches and our family and friends proud of us.”

Boxing at the SEA Games:

Venue: Singapore EXPO Hall 1

Dates: June 6 to 10

Admission: S$5