Olivia kissing her winning trophy in this photo taken at Rentap Fighting Championships 2022 in December.
KUCHING (Jan 28): Year 2022 had been an amazing one for Olivia Bahsous, which goes beyond her competitive career.
The Canada national youth muay thai fighter is now closer to her family than ever, and has established solid friendship with the team at the Rentap Muaythai Gym here.
The 13-year-old Palestinian-Canadian was practically ‘raised in the gym’. Her father, Tanios Bahsous, took up the sport when he was 25 and the minute she could run around, he brought her to the gym with him.
Tanios and Randa with their children (from right) Lynaea, Layla, Olivia and Izaiah.
However, Olivia did not undergo serious training until her family’s trip to Thailand in 2021.
February last year marked her debut fight, which she lost but it did not diminish her passion in the sport at all.
“I fell in love with the sport and from then onwards, I keep on going and going.
“Last year had been very exciting for me,” she told The Borneo Post here.
After that, Olivia competed again in Ottawa, Canada in April and won. Then in June, she took part in another outing in Iowa, the US.
It was in August last year when her real training kicked off, after signing up for the 2022 International Federation of Muaythai Associations (IFMA) World Games in Kuala Lumpur.
She staged a commendable performance in this tournament, having finished second in the Girls Junior Age 12-13 (32kg) category.
Olivia, flanked by Johan (front, left) and Mikhail, posing during a group photo-call taken at Rentap Muaythai Gym in Taman Supreme, Kuching. Seen on the back row are (from left) Jennana and her husband Zulfikar Mohd Ghazali, Coach Addy and Dolphina.
The Rentap Muaythai Gym hosted Team Canada for training prior to the competition in Kuala Lumpur. From then on, the Bahsous family has become friends with the gym co-owners, Dolphina Walter and Jennana Johnson.
Jennana’s sons Elias Ghazali Zulfikar, Muhammad Johan Ghazali Zulfikar and Muhammad Mikhail Ghazali Zulfikar also took part in the IFMA meet.
“It’s how we got to Malaysia and met the incredible trainer Addy Singpayak, Jen (Jennana) and Dolphina. Olivia and her dad loved the training so much that the family decided to come back to Sarawak and train for five months.
“After training at Rentap Muaythai, Olivia then travelled to Amman, Jordan in October to fight on the ‘Freedom Fighters’ promotion card.
“She defeated the Jordan’s champion in first round on TKO (technical knockout),” said Olivia’s mother Randa Bahsous.
“Under Rentap Muaythai, Olivia also fought in Chiangmai, Thailand in November last year and defeated her opponent from the hosting country in the second round after the referee stopped the bout.
“She ended Year 2022 triumphantly after beating Chamba from Wattanya Gym in Thailand, a gym that supports underprivileged children, at the Rentap Championships,” added Randa.
Olivia (on the floor, third left) with Tanios (standing, right) and her siblings in a group photo with Rentap Muay Thai fighters and members celebrating their achievement at the Rentap Fighting Championships 2022 in Kuching Civic Centre.
Whenever Olivia trains, all her family members would join her at the gym.
The girl has two younger sisters and a younger brother. Nine-year-old Lynaea entered her first competition in the Rentap Fighting Championships at Kuching Civic Centre last December, but lost in a very tight fight.
Eight-year-old brother Izaiah has a 2-1 record.
Even more exciting was in the same tournament, their father Tanios staged a sensational comeback from retirement, where he defeated Muhd Nurizman Abdullah of Sting Muay Thai in the Men’s 60kg bout.
Olivia’s baby sister, Layla, is five years old and has yet to enter any competition, but she is very active.
“You’ll find Layla running around in the gym, climbing the bags, and doing flips and cartwheels,” said Randa, who has never competed but always joins her lot in the gym for fitness.
The mother-of-four loves taking photos and videos of her family, and also travelling.
Asked why they chose Kuching as their destination for their winter break, Randa said they loved the city, as well as the friendliness and hospitality of its people.
“We choose Rentap Muay Thai because they have a good coach, and also because Kuching is a good place to relax during the winter break.
“The food is really good, especially the ‘roti canai’ which we like to eat after training.
“I’m a mom of four kids and thus, we need a good place that fits the whole family.
“Our kids are able to train along with the Ghazali brothers. And the gym atmosphere in Rentap Muay Thai is amazing.
“We feel very at home, and we connect well with Jennana, Dolphina and their families,” said Randa.
The Bahsous family will travel to Thailand again next month for the WBC ‘Amazing Muay Thai Festival’ in Hua Hin and after that, they will return to Kuching for a two-month training before returning to Canada in April.