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Tag: MMA

  • Budding MMA Fighter Sharil Salim Passed Away

    Budding MMA Fighter Sharil Salim Passed Away

    SINGAPORE – He fought hardship growing up as an orphan. He was hoping to make it big as a fighter in the boxing ring. But all that came to nought when, on the cusp of his big day, he ended up facing a protracted fight to live.

    Sadly, Shahril Salim lost that battle – and Singapore lost a potential star. The budding local boxer died on Nov 27, two years after a collapse during training left him with a serious brain injury.

    The 23-year-old former ITE College East student had been preparing to make his debut in a show at Marina Bay Sands in November 2012 when tragedy struck during a group sparring session at the Juggernaut Fight Club in Boat Quay.

    He had been bedridden and unable to speak since the incident and had to be fed through a tube in his nose.

    On Nov 27, he developed a high fever at his sister’s home in Jurong West and stopped breathing in the ambulance. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Singapore General Hospital.

    We look back at his fighting spirit through reports from The Straits Times Archives.

    Shahril’s rocky road to the ring spurs him to succeed

    THE REPORT WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE STRAITS TIMES ON OCT 12, 2012

    Boxer Shahril Salim, smiling and affable before, lowers his voice when asked why he got into the fight game. Those around him also fall silent as he tells the story.

    “I am an orphan and this is my chance to do something after all the struggles I have been through in my life,” says the 21-year-old.

    “My dad passed away when I was nine through illness and my mum died when I was 10.

    “After that I shifted from one house to another to stay with relatives. I was very close to being sent to an orphanage but my sister Lisa took me in. She had 10 children and adults staying in her four-room flat but did her best and gave me what she could.”

    The sense of hurt and hardship is clear in his voice, even as he sits and talks as a strong and powerful man about to make his professional boxing debut at Marina Bay Sands on Nov 9.

    Click here to read the full story.

    Boxer fights for life after collapsing before debut

    THE REPORT WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE STRAITS TIMES ON NOV 9, 2012

    Shahril Salim was supposed to be making his debut as a professional boxer at Marina Bay Sands tonight. Instead, the 21-year-old is now fighting for his life at the Singapore General Hospital.

    He was rushed to hospital for emergency brain surgery on Oct 28 after collapsing following a group sparring session at the Juggernaut Fight Club in Boat Quay.

    Click here to read the full story.

    Shahril fighting for his future, one day at a time

    THE REPORT WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE STRAITS TIMES ON JAN 20, 2013

    Shahril Salim can only blink slowly to communicate. One day, he may be able to learn to walk again. For now, the smallest movement in the tips of his fingers seems an exquisite gift.

    At the Bright Vision Hospital on Lorong Napiri in Hougang, the 22-year-old boxer is recovering from a brain injury suffered in a sparring session on Oct 28.

    Spencer Oliver, one of Britain’s most promising boxers who went into a coma after being knocked out in a fight in 1998, understood Shahril’s plight.

    The Briton, who works as a television pundit and runs his own gym, said: “It sounds like Shahril has real fighting spirit and I hope that he continues to get better.

    Click here to read the full story.

    Shahril’s not throwing in the towel

    THE REPORT WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE STRAITS TIMES ON NOV 2, 2013

    Twelve months after the accident that stole his boxing dreams, the former ITE College East student’s struggle continues.

    “Some doctors told us that he was on the verge of dying and that they had done everything that they could,” explained his brother, Jufri, who takes care of Shahril along with his wife Surayah Akbar, their three children and a maid in a three-room Housing Board flat in New Upper Changi Road.

    “But he kept fighting and can still respond to us. He can’t talk but he can raise his hands to answer a question or blink his eyes.

    “We ask him if he wants to carry on and he always says ‘yes’.

    “He is inside his body but can’t get out and we will help him for as long as it takes.”

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Amir Khan: MMA Fighter

    Amir Khan: MMA Fighter

    Every other second, his head snaps to the side; his right eye and mouth squeeze shut.

    Then the twitches give way to a powerful, lightning-quick barrage of punches and kicks.

    Slightly more than two minutes later, it’s all over, with Singaporean Amir Khan knocking out his hapless opponent on his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) debut.

    While the 19-year-old’s impressive skills captured the attention, so did his repeated, uncontrollable tics, with some even wondering if he was having muscle spasms.

    What Amir has is Tourette syndrome – a neurological disorder characterized by involuntary movements.

    U.S. footballer Tim Howard is the most famous athlete with the condition, which recently came into the spotlight after the ex-Manchester United goalkeeper pulled off a record-breaking 16 saves at the 2014 World Cup.

    What’s clear, however, is that Amir doesn’t suffer from it.

    “Maybe it helps because it’ll distract my opponent and he can’t read my eyes. That’s an advantage,” the One Fighting Championship (ONE FC) signee joked, as he spoke to Yahoo ahead of his next bout against Pakistani Waqar Umar on 7 November at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

    Turning serious, Amir said: “I don’t mind living with it, it doesn’t really affect me. But I’m trying to control it every day, slowly, and as I get older hopefully it’ll reduce.”

    He’s had Tourette’s since childhood, but it never landed him in any serious trouble – perhaps because one would think twice about trying to bully a teenage Muay Thai champion.

    Looking at his lean, muscled physique now, it’s hard to believe Amir’s first taste of competition was in golf, a sport his dad Ansari coaches in.

    But it was also father who stumbled upon son, then 13, sparring with friends at a void deck. Instead of pulling on Amir’s ear, he encouraged him to take up Muay Thai.

    A year later, as a Secondary Two student, Amir found himself fighting in Thailand.

    Another year later, he was back in the Land of Smiles, battling older opponents for a championship belt – which he won.

    The talented lad then made the natural progression to MMA, choosing to spend the next three years in the United States training, studying and biding his time to emerge on the global stage.

    Asked if he ever dreamt of fighting for American-based household name Ultimate Fighting Championship, Amir said, “I got an opportunity for ONE FC, and I think it’s going to be the next greatest thing, so I took it.”

    “I’m not really stuck on ‘Oh, I need to be in the UFC’,” he added. “I’ll take whichever opportunity comes first.”

    In Singapore, Amir trains twice a day, full-time, with the fêted Evolve Fight Team – a step up from six sessions a week when he was in the U.S.

    Winning his first big battle in dominant fashion was evidence of the payoff, but it was also an impressive display of calm and composure belying his youth.

    “I’ve been through a lot of fights,” Amir explained.

    He also credited his father for “doing everything” from planning his diet to providing moral support to doling out advice.

    “I think winning or losing doesn’t matter, as long as I do my thing in the cage,” Amir said. “I don’t really worry about being embarrassed; I don’t really care about the outcome – as long as I know I train hard.”

    Training, practicing – the constant quest for personal improvement seems to be Amir’s goal, whether it comes to his fighting profession or medical condition.

    He faces a potential roadblock when Singapore’s mandatory two-year National Service comes knocking, but Amir is not running away from his duties.

    “I plan to serve the nation. I don’t think it’s a bad thing,” he affirmed. “I just hope I’ll still be able to train every day, if not at night, or else I’ll train harder over the weekends. As long as I’m still training, it’s fine.”

    Tickets for ONE FC: BATTLE OF LIONS on 7 November in Singapore are on sale now at Sports Hub Tix (http://www.sportshubtix.com). Ticket categories begin with the full Red Carpet and cageside experience for VIPs at S$378 followed by Arena S$158, Terrace S$58 and Balcony S$38. Prices exclude ticketing fee.

    Source: sg.sports.yahoo.com/blogs