Video: Stop children doing Muay Thai now: Young boxer dies from brain hemorrhage

[webfact]

Video: Stop children doing Muay Thai now: Young boxer dies from brain hemorrhage

 

Picture: Daily News

 

Daily News reported that a boy knocked out in a Thai boxing bout has died in hospital.

 

The boy - known by his ring name of Petchmongkhol P. Pheenphat" - and his opponent were not wearing any protective headgear.

 

The Thai media said that the dead boy was fighting to get money for his family. 

 

A professor of Biology at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok named as Jessada said it was time to stop children fighting like this. 

 

A video showed the moment the boy was knocked unconscious in the ring as adults cheered.

 

A picture showed the boy - whose age was not mentioned - hooked up to life support systems in hospital.

 

Source: Daily News

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2018-11-13

 

[stanleycoin]

Oh dear, that's very Sad.

RIP, little one. 

What can we say . 

[rkidlad]

This is about as sad a story as you'll read. Why on earth any adult would wanna watch children fight is beyond me. 

[androokery]

I watched one Muay Thai fight 25 years ago. I'm never going to watch another. Sickening, stupid activity.

[CelticBhoy]

Anyone who finds that entertaining is sick.

God love the poor wee soul.

Fighting for his family. RIP wee man.

[akirasan]

Hasn't stopped Buakaw planning a local show at his old school next month.

[Misterwhisper]

1 hour ago, rkidlad said:

This is about as sad a story as you'll read. Why on earth any adult would wanna watch children fight is beyond me. 

Well said, rkidlad. But unfortunately, whenever there is potential money to be made, morals in this country fly straight out the window pronto-pronto. Always has been, always will be.

Edited November 13, 2018 by Misterwhisper

[PatOngo]

15 hours ago, webfact said:

A video showed the moment the boy was knocked unconscious in the ring as adults cheered.

Therein lies the mentality!

[RotBenz8888]

A parent who let his child participate in Thai Boxing must be very sick. Perhaps have some brain damage themselves?

[kannot]

11 hours ago, CelticBhoy said:

God love the poor wee soul.

presumably the same  all  loving God who'll send you to hell for eternity then who could easily have intervened etc etc etc

[Soikhaonoiken]

R.I.P young man

[webfact]

Muay Thai boxer aged 13 dies from head injuries

By THE NATION

 

Anucha Thasako prepares for a muay thai match. |The boy, 13, succumbed to injuries after a |bout on |November 10.

 

A 13-year-old Muay Thai boxer succumbed to his injuries after a taking blow that sent him head first into the ground during a charity match in Samut Prakan on November 10.

 

The 41-pound (18.5 kilogram) Mathayom 1 schoolboy Anucha Thasako, who fought under the alias Phetchmongkol Sor Wilaithong, was knocked out cold in Round 3 by his opponent and rushed to the hospital in Phra Pradaeng district.

 

Diagnosed with a severe intracerebral hemorrhage, Anucha was passed on to the better-equipped Samut Prakan Hospital. But it was too late and the boy succumbed to the injury.

 

A video clip of the boy’s final match, showing him and his opponent fighting without protective headgear, was posted online. They were competing for trophies from Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan as part of an anti-drugs campaign from November 9 to 11. 

 

Anucha, who had been a muay thai boxer from the age of eight and competed in 170 matches, had lost his parents and was being brought up by his uncle. 

 

The uncle Damrong Thasako, 48, said the boy had taken up boxing to pay for his schooling and to help out with household expenses. 

 

Nitikron Sonde, Anucha’s young opponent, said he was following his instincts and did not know his punches would kill someone. 

 

“I had never wanted this to happen. I am sad, but when in the boxing ring, I had to do my best. If I was weak, it would have been me who was attacked,” he said. 

 

The victor and other winning boxers have decided to auction off their boxing shorts to raise funds for Anucha’s family. Nitikron also said he would get ordained as a novice monk in dedication to Anucha. 

 

This death has taken place at a time when the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) is trying to push through a bill prohibiting children under 12 from muay thai. 

 

“I will forward this draft to the Cabinet for review as soon as possible,” Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat said yesterday. 

 

As per schedule, the Cabinet should make a decision on the bill by November 18, as it was forwarded by the NLA on October 18. 

 

The bill is supported by medical professionals, who say banning children from the boxing ring will protect them from long-lasting brain injuries. However, influential people in the muay thai circle have been fiercely objecting to the bill, saying it will go against a long-standing tradition and affect the income of some deeply impoverished families. 

 

Two-time WBC super flyweight muay thai champion “Chao Laem Srisaket Sor Rungvisai” is reportedly against the bill, because he himself became a boxer when he was just seven.

 

This draft amendment to the 1999 Boxing Act would also require teen fighters to wear protective gear and be formally registered. It also threatens boxers and referees who rig bouts with up to five years in prison and fines of up to Bt100,000. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30358490

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-11-14

[webfact]

Death of Thai boy inflames debate on Muay Thai's young dreamers

By Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat

 

FILE PHOTO - Nanthawat Pomsod, 11, who is a child boxer, fights Kritthonglek Sitkritthongkam during a boxing match at a temple in Buriram province, Thailand, February 2, 2018. REUTERS/Prapan Chankeaw

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - The death of a 13-year-old boy, knocked out during a Thai boxing match, has inflamed debate about whether children should be allowed to take part in a dangerous sport that many of them see as their only chance of escaping poverty.

 

Anucha Kochana was pronounced dead from a brain haemorrhage on Monday after he was knocked out in a match on the outskirts of Bangkok on Sunday evening.

 

Thai boxing, or Muay Thai as it is known, is a passion in Thailand with millions of boys dreaming of glory in the ring, and a life of riches, for them and their families, that success can bring.

 

But the sport is governed by few rules - children of any age can box in an organised match - leaving them at risk of severe injury, or worse, as Anucha's case has sadly shown.

 

The boy's grieving relatives told media they would not press charges over his death.

 

But legislators appointed by a military government have already been looking to tighten regulations to ban children under the age of 12 from professional bouts.

 

But the effort is opposed by many in the boxing community.

 

"Those aged 12 to 15 will need to be registered, have the permission of their parents and wear protective gear for professional fights," General Adulyadej Inthapong, the vice chairman of the National Legislative Assembly's committee on sports, told Reuters, referring to the proposed law.

 

Footage of Anucha's last fight posted on social media shows the boy, without any protective gear, getting punched repeatedly in the head before falling down and banging his head on the mat.

 

Somchart Charoenwatcharawit, president of the Professional Boxing Association of Thailand, said the proposed changes would hurt the livelihood of an estimated 300,000 child boxers under the age of 15.

 

"The new rule ... will hurt the children and their parents who earn tens of thousands of baht from boxing in what is a national sport," Somchart said.

 

He said the referee on Sunday should have stopped the fight when Anucha looked groggy and the match did not meet his association's standards.

 

The association thinks the minimum age for boys taking part in organised bouts should be 10, he said.

 

Jiraporn Laothamatas, a neuroradiologist and director of the Advanced Diagnostic Imaging Center, has studied the damage that boxing can inflict.

 

Her research has fuelled the push for change but she says even the proposed minimum age of 12 for competition is a compromise that she disagrees with.

 

"If I had my way, the minimum age would be 18," she said, while acknowledging that Muay Thai is an important source of income for many, as well as being culturally important.

 

"The change in the law is being delayed because the industry makes a lot of money from child boxing," she said.

 

"It will take some guts for the government to push it through."

 

(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Panu Wongcha-um; Editing by Robert Birsel)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-11-14

[Briggsy]

These kids (and there are hundreds of thousands around the country) are placed in boxing stables by their family, usually around 7 or 8 years old. Sometimes they live in, sometimes they live at home. The boxing stables gladly accept them.

 

So you see, you have families willing to "sell" their kids into boxing from an early age and an industry based around having a steady supply of fresh, young, pre-teenage boys. If society or people in power wish to regulate this, they will need to act with a firm hand because both the supply camp and the demand camp will lose money.

[YetAnother]

child boxing; how primitive????

[edwinchester]

A 13 year old kid should not be dying in the name of sport and entertainment, he had no idea of the risks involved.

[ZeVonderBearz]

Just regulate the sport, man! Kids and amateur fighters to wear guards, don't allow them throw elbows to the head and have a proper medical team at ring side. Not once have I read of kids dying at martial arts tournaments or boxing marches in the civilised world but it seems to be very normal here. 

[rtco]

Muay Thai, Kick Boxing, MMA + any of the Martial Arts ... they are all full contact sports and people participate because that's what they enjoy. There are risks involved with all contact sports like Rugby and supposedly non-contact sports like Football. It is a fact of life. It is very sad that there has been a loss of life so this should be a pointer to looking at how the sport can be made safer for the young e.g. headguards, fewer bouts etc etc.   

[andersonat]

"Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday has asked the public and media to warn a teenage “look thung” singer about her suggestive dance moves and scanty outfits. 

When asked if he would instruct the Culture Ministry to caution the young rising star, Prayut said: “I want people and the media to warn her. I don’t know what to do. People like this style of performance and dressing.” 

He was commenting on a controversy surrounding singer Lamyai Haithongkham’s twerking that involves nine consecutive “air banging” moves." 

 

*

 

 - Perhaps the Prime Minister can find the time soon to similarly take an interest in, and comment on, the  involvement of children in Muay-Thai Competitions.

[Orton Rd]

12 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

A parent who let his child participate in Thai Boxing must be very sick. Perhaps have some brain damage themselves?

They do a lot of stupid things, such as letting kids drive motorbikes about, no helmets of course. I wonder how many kids die on the roads through head injuries every year falling off bikes, some look 11-12 years old.

[stanleycoin]

He should have been in school not the ring.

Bunch of retarded adults are to blame. 

and they all wont give a dam after next week. 

[jvs]

2 hours ago, ZeVonderBearz said:

but it seems to be very normal here. 

How often does this happen?I would think not near as often as

a young boy dying while riding a motorbike.

I do think however already 170 fights at his age in insanity.

All for the money!!

 

[hotchilli]

19 hours ago, stanleycoin said:

Oh dear, that's very Sad.

RIP, little one. 

What can we say . 

Dysfunctional family circumstances that led the young boy into the arena to bring home the money !!

Government, local authorities and society is at fault for not properly supporting poor families !

But don't expect anything to change over another death...

just take a look at the real road death figures that are tolerated, do you think they're going to get involved in sport?

[smccolley]

Americans let their children play American football, well known to cause brain injuries even with the right equipment.

Aussies let their children play rugby which is well known to cause all kinds of injuries.

This is not a Thai problem, it is a world wide problem. How can you teach people to be professionals at contact sports as adults without starting off as kids? I certainly don't have a solution, but we should look at the wider issue of contact/fighting sports in general. If an NFL linebacker didn't make millions and have thousands of adoring fans I bet the parents wouldn't be so enthusiastic about having their kids play one...

[connda]

I'm in agreement with a ban on child full-contact fights.

 

However, Muay Thai is a martial art.  Kid's should be allowed, if not encouraged, to train.  It's good discipline and excellent exercise.  I'd rather my kid was out associating with martial artists than yaba dealers and users. 

[Bob12345]

1 minute ago, connda said:

I'm in agreement with a ban on child full-contact fights.

 

However, Muay Thai is a martial art.  Kid's should be allowed, if not encouraged, to train.  It's good discipline and excellent exercise.  I'd rather my kid was out associating with martial artists than yaba dealers and users. 

That approach makes sense!

 

Keep in mind that parents send their kids to muay thai camps because they are too poor to feed their kids or put them through school (buy a school uniform, bring them to school, etc). Or they work 12 hours a day and cannot get someone to raise their kids. Of course you can say they should not have taken kids in the first place, but what you going to do about that?

 

In a boxing camp these kids have an opportunity to make money for their family, and the owners of the camps often demand the kids to go to school and get decent grades (the better owners, some wil be scum and don't care about the kids). The kids have a stable environment, get an education, do sports 40 hours a week, and have an opportunity in life. So a prohibition on having them train and fight seem a bit too "western" to me: it will create a lot of problems for poor families that need to be solved first before you can demand that.

 

Given you want to keep the system and opportunities intact, the best proposition would be to limit the risks for these kids. You can think of limiting the techniques allowed and limiting the number of fights they can have in a year or month. At a later age you can relax these rules. Compare this to western countries where kids wear protective gear and punches and kicks to the head are not allowed at a younger age. And these western countries produce tons of champions, meaning the deciding factor to be good at a later age is not at what age you started or in what way your earliest fights were regulated.

[Aforek]

12 minutes ago, connda said:

I'm in agreement with a ban on child full-contact fights.

 

However, Muay Thai is a martial art.  Kid's should be allowed, if not encouraged, to train.  It's good discipline and excellent exercise.  I'd rather my kid was out associating with martial artists than yaba dealers and users. 

At least , for children ,  they should wear protective headgear

[madusa]

On 11/13/2018 at 4:13 PM, androokery said:

I watched one Muay Thai fight 25 years ago. I'm never going to watch another. Sickening, stupid activity.

Yep,totally agree with you androokery. It's a civilization in decay , well, the early beginning stage so people don't feel it or realize it.

[madusa]

On 11/13/2018 at 5:55 PM, Misterwhisper said:

Well said, rkidlad. But unfortunately, whenever there is potential money to be made, morals in this country fly straight out the window pronto-pronto. Always has been, always will be.

Just wait a minute, "whenever there is potential money to be made, morals in this country fly straight out the window pronto-pronto."

 Misterwhisper I am not sure if you are American, is there morals in America? Just asking.

[Briggsy]

23 hours ago, rtco said:

people participate because that's what they enjoy

In Thailand, kids participate because they are "sold" to a stable from the age of 7 to provide an income (and a decrease in expenses) for the family. It is the child's job. Nothing to do with what they enjoy. Many want to leave as teenagers but are locked in to a contract and strong cultural obligations to provide for the family.