Boxing: Khadem to break a barrier for Iranian women
13:42, 12/04/2019, FridayU: Update: 13:43, 12/04/2019, Friday
REUTERS
Iranian boxer Sadaf Khadem poses before a training session in preparation to her first official boxing bout in Royan, France, April 11, 2019. Two years after a clandestine impromptu training session on the Tehran hills, Sadaf Khadem will become the first Iranian woman to contest an official boxing fight in western France on Saturday, hoping to lead the way in the Islamic Republic. Picture taken April 11, 2019. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau
BREAK THE DAM
Some women fight but the bouts are illegal and being held in Turkey with no medical insurance. In France, Khadem trained at the National Institute of Sport and was handed a French licence to practice and fight.
For the first time she trained among men, and she burst into tears at the end of a session, overwhelmed by her emotions.
"My parents were worried when I started boxing but they saw I was really loving it so now they are supporting me. I'm now steaming ahead," said Khadem.
"I have been waiting for this moment for so long.
"I hope this first fight will pave the way and that I will go as far as I can to have my name in the history of Iranian boxing."
But Khadem, who weighed around 100 kilograms when she started boxing compared to 68 now, is on a mission.
"I hope to break the dam. I don't matter. What matters is Mahyar, who made this fight possible. It could have been anyone instead of me," she explained.
"In my country, there are a lot of women who box, this fight is also for them."
Khadem, however, took her chance, adding hours to her fitness coach job to get ready for a 3x2 amateur bout where she will sport Iran's colours.
Downplaying her achievement, she said: "Everyone has difficult moments in their lives. In every country it is difficult to do some things. You have to overcome the hurdles."
Her opponent, local boxer Anne Chauvin, said she was 'happy to be part of this fight to help the cause of women'.
