Lao kickboxer Daomayouly Chanthalath trains at the Chao Anouvong Stadium in Vientiane.                --Photo Daomayouly

Top Lao kickboxer to strike out in regional competitions

Laos’ star female kickboxer Daomayouly Chanthalath is training at the Safa Gym in Vientiane in readiness for more bouts in the ring after returning from the SEA Games in Vietnam last month.
Daomayouly competed in the women’s 48kg weight division in the wushu fighting event at the Games. The Lao team of five male and two female wushu fighters won three bronze medals.
Head coach at the Safa Gym, Mr Safa, said Daomayouly was ready to compete in martial arts events in Laos and in friendly competitions to be held in Thailand.
The gym had discussed the possibility of kickboxing being included in the National Games, which is taking place in Xieng Khuang province later this year.
However, no decision has yet been made by the games’ organisers as to whether kickboxing will feature on the programme.
Sports authorities in Xieng Khuang had not been in contact with the gym over plans for kickboxers to train for the event, the coach said.
At present, Daomayouly is the only kickboxer training at the gym. She is fully prepared to participate in the National Games if she can get financial support.
Other martial artists who previously trained at the Safa Gym are now busy with their work and no longer have enough time to come to the gym. In addition, training has been severely disrupted over the past two years because of the Covid-19 pandemic. 
A few years ago, Daomayouly won silver and bronze medals in international kickboxing events and also competed at the 18th Asian Games held in Indonesia in 2018.
The Lao wushu team won three bronze medals at the last edition of the SEA Games, which took place in the Philippines in 2019.

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update June 10, 2022)