Teenager Choi Hyun-mi, struggling to make a new life in South Korea after fleeing North Korea with her parents, literally fought her way to the top.
Choi, who switched from amateur to professional boxing to support her family, is now the World Boxing Association (WBA) women’s featherweight champion — still deeply in love with the sport she took up in Pyongyang at age 13.
“I think I was born to box,” said Choi, now 19, recalling how she switched from track after a school boxing coach persuaded her to visit the gym.
PHOTO: AFP
Fellow 13-year-olds were working up a sweat punching bags, but to Choi their efforts looked beautiful. She then had to win over her parents, who were firmly opposed to a daughter in the ring.
“So I recorded a video of me defeating other fighters and showed it to my parents after practising for three months secretly,” Choi said.
They swung behind her and Choi was asked to train for the 2008 Olympics as a possible member of the North Korean squad. Olympics organizers eventually decided to exclude women boxers.
In 2004 her life changed dramatically when her wealthy businessman father Choi Chul-soo decided to flee to South Korea.
“I was too young to understand what it took, and what it meant. But I said yes because I longed for a new environment,” she said.
The high-risk escape was carefully disguised as a family trip to China. They traveled on to Vietnam before finally settling in South Korea.
“I literally thought I would live in a three-story building where there was a swimming pool. I imagined living like a princess, wearing dresses. But the reality was different,” Choi said.
At first she was thrilled about the fact that she could study like others and live a normal life. But she started to get angry when she could not match the school grades she achieved in North Korea, and decided to seek success in the ring.
Choi made an explosive debut as an amateur, claiming five titles and 16 victories. She turned professional so the prize money could support her needy family, who were living on state aid paid to North Korean refugees.
“I felt the need to help my family and make up for their never-ending support and love,” Choi said.
She secured a third-round technical knockout in her professional debut in June 2008. And in only her second professional bout in 2008 she defeated China’s Xu Chunyan to claim the WBA world title.
“Frankly speaking, I don’t remember how I felt or what I thought,” Choi said. “Everything was just passing before me like a panorama.”
The win at age 17 made her the youngest world champion of either sex in the history of South Korean boxing. She has defended her title twice.
The champion says she is hooked on what she calls “the most beautiful physical art.”
“If you win and your hand goes up, you get this sudden excitement. It is like an addiction. Boxing is everything in my life. It is my stepping stone,” she said.
Promoters once advertised Choi as “Defector Girl Boxer” while she is known as “The Technical Boxer” or “Beauty Boxer” to her fans.
“I prefer ‘beauty boxer,’” she said, laughing.
But Choi’s favorite nickname is “Million Dollar Baby,” after the 2004 Oscar-winning movie about an underdog female fighter who turns professional.
“It means I am worth a million dollars, or more. I like that,” Choi joked.
New Taipei Kings guard Jeremy Lin on Friday was named the Taiwan Professional Basketball League’s (TPBL) Player of the Month, the first domestic player to win the award, while the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers are to welcome their third head coach in less than a year. Lin averaged 22 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists over five games in October and last month, helping the Kings to second in the standings with a 4-2 record as of Friday. The Kings last night defeated the Lioneers 96-78 to move level with the top-of-the-table Formosa Dreamers (5-2), while in the night game, the New Taipei
‘REMARKABLE’: Gaelic football is a traditional Irish sport that blends the skills of soccer and rugby, and hurling is an ancient sport played with a wooden stick and ‘sliotar’ The Taiwan Celts Gaelic Football Club marked a milestone achievement at the Asian Gaelic Games in Bangkok on Nov. 23 and 24, with two sides advancing to the knockout stages and competing at hurling for the first time. The event brought together 68 teams from 16 clubs across Asia, with more than 800 players in men’s and women’s tournaments. Gaelic football is a traditional Irish team sport that blends the skills of soccer, rugby union and basketball. Hurling is an ancient Irish sport played with a wooden stick, called a hurley, and a small ball, or sliotar. The Taiwan Celts’ women’s team reached
LIVERPOOL WIN: The 50th Champions League goal by Mohamed Salah helped the leaders of the Premier League to keep their perfect record intact Real Madrid’s big stars on Tuesday turned on the style to revive the Spanish giant’s faltering UEFA Champions League title defense. Galacticos Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all scored in a thrilling 3-2 win against Serie A leaders Atalanta BC. However, Madrid still had to ride their luck as Mateo Retegui fired over from in front of goal in stoppage-time when handed a golden chance to level the game. It was only Madrid’s third win in the competition’s revamped league phase and leaves the 15-time champions in the unseeded playoff positions in 18th place. “It’s a very important win. Not everyone wins
TO NO AVAIL: The Denver Nuggets’ Serbian center Nikola Jokic surpassed his 53-point performance in the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix The Washington Wizards withstood a 56-point explosion from Denver star Nikola Jokic to beat the Nuggets 122-113 on Saturday and snap their 16-game NBA losing streak. Jokic, who won his third NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award last season, posted a career scoring high — surpassing a 53-point performance in game four of the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix and a 50-point regular-season best against Sacramento in 2021. The Serbian big man added 16 rebounds and eight assists, but it was all to no avail as Washington, buoyed by 39 points from Jordan Poole, won for the first time