Boxing: Muhamad Ridhwan appointed co-coach as national squad aims for improvement

SINGAPORE – He was 1 of Singapore’s eminent boxers around the earlier 10 years. Now, Muhamad Ridhwan has swopped his boxing gloves for a trainer’s whistle, as he held his first session as co-coach of the nationwide squad on Saturday (June 4) at the Bedok Sporting activities Hall.

The 34-calendar year-previous gained bronze medals at three consecutive SEA Game titles from 2011 to 2015. He is partnering one more ex-national boxer David Alexis, who clinched a Video games bronze himself in 1993, as the Singapore Boxing Federation refreshes its coaching set-up in advance of up coming year’s Video games in Cambodia.

At the recent Hanoi SEA Game titles in May well, Singapore was represented by only two boxers – Hanurdeen Hamid and Dinie Hakeem. Bantamweight Hanurdeen was defeated by eventual champion Ian Bautista of the Philippines in the quarter-finals, even though Dinie claimed a bronze right after getting rid of to Cambodia’s Phearak Ong in the heavyweight semi-last.

On Saturday, Ridhwan and Alexis shared the revised, thrice-weekly teaching programme with the national squad.

Among the new initiatives Ridhwan will introduce is regular particular person experiences for boxers, to chart their instruction development, strengths and weaknesses.

He claimed: “What is actually unique about my experience is that I competed as a boxer who is quite adapted to the present society, challenges and complications confronted by Singaporean boxers.

“I know what they truly feel and imagine about, their worries… It goes beyond the technological aspects of coaching.”

Keeping enthusiastic, he added, is a massive challenge for nearby boxers. Ridhwan hopes this can be dealt with as a result of the new particular person experiences, as effectively as structured schooling and levels of competition plans.

He mentioned: “When you have some persons in the crew or administration that thinks in you or cares about you, not necessarily in conditions of funds but in conditions of a structure and giving you a objective to get the job done towards, I think that would assist a lot.”

He is also hunting ahead to his partnership with Alexis, saying their combined activities would advantage the existing athletes.

“I imagine we will operate pretty very well. I’ve been under him ahead of, I know how he functions, and he understands how I feel way too. It will be a superior mix,” claimed Ridhwan, who went into skilled boxing after the 2015 Game titles on home soil but has due to the fact retired with a report of 15 wins and two losses.

Alexis, 54, has earlier labored with national boxers, such as Ridhwan, for many SEA Game titles strategies but was only formally introduced into the fold past December.

He stated: “From today’s session, the athletes seem to be to be responding very very well. We are thrilled to see how this will go forward. Ridhwan is youthful and has very good ideas.”

Hanurdeen explained the new set-up has energised the athletes.

“I really feel more inspired by the modifications,” reported the 28-12 months-old, who clinched a silver and two bronze medals at a few consecutive Video games from 2015 to 2019.

“Wan was my teammate for a very prolonged time, and I have read him speaking about the thoughts he had for boxing even when he was an athlete, and now he is executing them as a mentor.

“The procedure of our preceding coaches was a bit old-faculty… but I think (Ridhwan and Alexis) provide a a lot more modern day strategy. I feel it is really heading to get the job done.”