A Star is Born

SWEAT trickled past his temple, but it did not bother him at all. His powerful kicks remained constant towards his Thai opponent. His eyes did not blink at all, as he tries to catch and predict his every next move. A swing with the knee towards his opponent every now and then. His arms trying hard to locked his opponent.

That was 18-year-old Kabilan Jelevan during his recent Max Muay Thai competition held in Thailand on October 14. In his third round, his knees were soaring to his opponent, hammering and weakening the foe.

At the last second of the last round, Kabilan managed to knock his opponent out as the bell rings an end, simultaneously winning the match. At home, he is the youngest among five siblings who are also involved in different sports. Kabilan disclosed that their sporty genes came from his mother who was a runner, and his father who was in the air force.

Kabilan started with Taekwando during his primary school days, and moved along to an Indian martial art call Silambam. Then, since he was 14 years of age, Kabilan practiced the Thailand martial art, ‘Muay Thai’. In the same year, it was revealed that he won his first championship in an amateur match.

When asked why did he joined Muay Thai, he disclosed, “I joined for the purpose of selfdefence.” But due to his strong punches and kicks, and in respect of the martial art and his studio, ‘SS Fighters’, Kabilan shared that when met with strangers looking a fight, he would always tries to avoid them. “I will tell them that they are strong and there is no need for a fight. Because if I do, I would land in jail and give my studio a bad name,” he chuckled.

His motivation to keep on fighting in Muay Thai was to improve himself and be better in the sport. “I kept on fighting until today because whenever I re-watch a fight, I would feel dissatisfied with my moves. Even after winning a match, I would still feel the same. I hope to be able to improve better!” Kabilan who finds excitement and thrills in Muay Thai also said, “Whenever I join a match, I do not think of losing.

I would just think of two things. Either to win or to learn from the experience.” When asked how does he feel at each fight? Kabilan calmly answered, “When you first enter the match, you will always feel nervous. People will be telling me about my opponent, that they are big, tall and strong. But as soon as the match starts, my adrenaline kicks in and I just fight.”

The Muay Thai practitioner shared his techniques in the ring: “Usually, in round one, I will take it slowly and observe the way my opponent fight. During the second round, when I got the grasp of his technique, I will predict his next move and fight him.” As he gets hit during the matches, Kabilan admitted that it was not painful. Instead, the pain was mostly felt after every match.

“When I get hit, I do not feel the pain due to the adrenaline rush in me. It is only when after a fight that I would feel the pain the most.

“The worse place to get hit would be the thigh. The pain is not felt during the match, but rather after. Especially when you want to visit the toilet to take number two. I always have to hold the wall as I gradually sit down and get up. It is so painful and sometimes it takes almost two weeks to recover.”

His recovery is usually accompanied with drinking essences to clean up the blood clot. After that, Kabilan is up and punching once again! But he conceded that Muay Thai can be tiring. For his future, the 18-year-old aspires to be in the air-force someday. However, in the meantime, do expect to see him in the Muay Thai ring again, keeping his sharp eyes on his opponent. Kabilan currently fights for SS Fighters Muay Thai Gym under the guidance of Tuan Hj. Sulaiman Bin Hj. Salleh and his team.