The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Coach so proud of young champions
Aberdeen Muay Thai boxing coach Andy Rose has reflected on a successful 2022 after four of his athletes lit up the fighting circuit.
Rudy Da Silva, 15, Jack Robertson, 15, Zac Sim, 14, and Sam Duncan, 11, who train with Rose at the Granite Fight Factory in Aberdeen, all won titles which are recognised by official boxing federations last year.
Da Silva won the WBC Scottish, British and European title – becoming the first Thai boxer at under-16 level to ever hold all three belts at the same time.
Robertson and Sim won the Scottish and British titles in their respective weight divisions, while the latter also captured the IMTF world title, and Duncan was named British champion after securing the ISKA title.
It’s no easy task to win any of those titles and coach Rose believes their achievements are a just reward for the sheer amount of effort all of his athletes – and coaches – have put in.
He said: “The gyms we’re competing against at the highest level are well established in England and across Europe and have been operating for around 40 years. We’ve only been training here since 2018.
“For us to be up there – not only competing and holding our own, but we’re now beating them on their own patch and winning titles – it means a lot to us all.
“The boys are training after school every day, some even come in before school. They’re all so dedicated and put in so much work, so to see the boys rewarded with these titles, it just makes you feel really proud.
“I’ve got very dedicated coaches, too, and none take a penny from the gym.
“They do all of it in their spare time, almost every night of the week. It takes a lot of dedication from everyone.”
Rose hopes 2023 will be another successful year for his athletes, with Da Silva and Sim’s first fights of the year confirmed.
The Granite Fight Factory coach said: “We just want to kick on. Rudy’s fight is confirmed for February and Zac’s first fight is in March, so we just want to pick up from where we left off.
“We want to keep developing all of them as people, not just athletes.
“Hopefully we can have a busy year on the fight circuit and get to a couple more World Championships – last year was still hampered a bit due to Covid.
“Thai boxing is still a bit of a niche sport, so hopefully with the boys’ achievements we can get some more local recognition and get more kids coming along to the gym to try their hand at the sport.”
The boys are training after school every day, some even come in before