From Chasing IPL Dream To Becoming A Fighter: Read How Ashish Raman Sethi Became India's First Muay Thai Star To Win Bangla Stadium Boxing Championship

Ashish Raman Sethi became the first Indian boxer ever to win a Bangla boxing stadium belt. On the fastest knockout of the night, the Indian fighter battled the hard way to conquer the toughest fight of his life and bring glory to the Indian map.

Although a number of legends have contested in the legendary Bangla Boxing Stadium, Ashish set a record by becoming the first Indian fighter to win the title there. Bangla Boxing Stadium is a prominent Muay Thai arena in Patong Beach known for hosting real Thai Boxing matches, with real champions fighting for prizes, titles and improving their rank on the Thai boxing scene. The Indian has never let international fights stop him from setting multiple illustrious records during his career.

The Thai boxer is highly recognised for taking home the bronze medal at the IFMA competition in 2020 in Korea. As a consequence of Ashish Sethi's victory over Chinese Taipei's Jhao Cyun Ciou to win the medal in the Elite Category, it was the country's first bronze medal.

Talking about the same, Ashish shares, "In combat sports, the air always has a certain quality. Kickboxing is a deeply ingrained spiritual path that has always made me feel strong from inside; it is never a demonstration of strength and talent."

Very few know that the fighter had represented Haryana in Indian Cricket, talking about switching sports, the boxer shares, "My desire has always been to play cricket, and I was preparing for the IPL. I tried out for under-16, under-19, and under-25 teams, but nothing worked out. I had no success in cricket after the age of twenty-two."

Adding further the athlete shares, "I took a long vacation during that time since I wasn't sure what to do after my cricket career came to an end. I started practising martial arts after I turned 24 or 25, but it was too late."

The athlete shares more about his journey, particularly about an incident that shook him hard, Ashish shares, “When I did take part in hardcore muaythai, one of the TOP television Thai boxing leagues in Thailand, I recall that I shattered my jaw in my third match. I had no sensation whatsoever. I had to wait two months to heal with a liquid diet, then eight months, and I was certain I was losing my mind at the time due to a terrible injury.”

Ashish started learning kickboxing. His local gym provided him with the fundamental training he required. He did, however, believe that he needed to improve his abilities. After that, Ashish Raman Sethi obtained multiple winning spurs in amateur boxing. The athlete won the 2018 KFI kickboxing national championship. In 2019, he won his first gold medal at the Muay Thai National Championships. Then he won the Asian Muay Thai bronze medal in the 85 kilogrammes division, which led to his World Championship Muay Thai win in 2019.

Now shifting his focus to full-time professional fights, Ashish talks about his days dabbling in MMA, Ashish said, "Being from Haryana, where wrestling is deeply ingrained, it was something that came easy to me, and now my journey has brought me to my first Indian triumph as a boxer, which confirms that I chose my sport well and I will continue to box."

Ending his thoughts on a good note, the boxer said, "After my jaw break, I was able to win eight out of fourteen professional fights. I understand that every fighter faces challenges, but I enjoy proving that I was born for this."A