Ruqsana Begum

Early life

Begum was born and brought up in Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex, England to a family of Bangladeshi origin. She is the second eldest of four children and lives at home with her family. She comes from a traditional, religious family and grew up in a strict Muslim household.

After studying at UzSWLU in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 2006, Begum graduated with a degree in Architecture from the University of Westminster. She was a trainee architect and was made redundant after the company she worked for made cuts. She is a part-qualified architect.

Professional kickboxing career

In 2002, at the age of 18, Begum took up a kickboxing class after college. She initially did it as a hobby in secret due to concerns that her family may not approve. In 2006, soon after she graduated from university, she told her family that she was practising Muay Thai, after she had kept it a secret from her family for almost five years. In 2008, she started fighting professionally.

In 2009, Begum defeated a Malaysian opponent to win a bronze medal at the World Amateur Kickboxing Championship in Bangkok, Thailand.

On 27 November 2010, in her first final, Begum defeated Paige Farrington to win the British Muay Thai Atomweight Kickboxing Championship Professional title from the Duel at the Dome contest in Doncaster. Begum is the only Muslim woman who is a national champion in her sport.

On 31 July 2011, Begum won a gold medal at the European Club Cup Amateur Muay Thai Championship in Latvia. She beat a Finnish fighter to secure her place in the final and beat a Turkish fighter in the final to be awarded gold.

On 6 September 2012, Begum was nominated as British Muay Thai Team Captain and won bronze at the International Federation of Muaythai Amateur (IFMA) World Championships in Saint Petersburg, Russia. On 9 September 2012, she beat Ranini Cundasawmy from Mauritius in the quarter-final, before losing her semi-final match, on 11 September 2012, against the European champion, Chyslova Liudmila, from Belarus who proceeded to win silver.

On 13 April 2013, Begum fought Silvia La Notte from Italy at the New Bingley Hall in Birmingham for the International Sport Kickboxing Association (ISKA) World Championship. Although Begum was leading on points, during the fourth round the fight was abandoned after she took a knock to the head.

On 14 March 2015, she contested the International Sport Kickboxing Association (ISKA) Women's straw-weight world title fight against French national champion, Ludivine Lasnier, at the ILEC Conference Centre in Earls Court, London but lost the title on points.

On 7 November 2015, she was due to contest the World Kickboxing Association (WKA) title against Josefine Lindgren Knutsson of Sweden in Hackney, London, however, after Begum suffered from a viris the fight was postponed until February 2015 and rescheduled for April 23 against Susanna Salmijärvi which she contested and won.

Begum trains under Bill Judd, and currently fights out of the KO Gym in Bethnal Green, London. She trains six times a week for two hours each day, and during the build-up to a fight she trains twice a day. She is signed up by RDX Equipment and her main sponsor is DCD Property Company.

Other work

On top of her own professional commitments, Begum is a personal trainer and instructor. She also works as an instructor one night a week giving free after-school Muay Thai classes every Monday at the Lions Den Gym in Chadwell Heath, London for the children in the East End. She also coaches ladies-only classes every Sunday.

Since 2009, she has worked part-time, two days a week, as a science technician at Swanlea School in Whitechapel, London.

She is a boxing and Muay Thai coach for Fight for Peace, a charity which uses boxing as a prevention and rehabilitation model to confront the problem of child and youth participation in crime, gangs and gun violence within disadvantaged communities. She is an ambassador for Sporting Equals, a charity who help people from ethnic minorities to access sport, whoever you are and at all levels.

In 2015, Begum created a sports hijab for non-athletes for combat fighting sports and to help more Muslim women get into combat sports. She was first inspired to create the product when she saw sprinter Ruqaya Al-Ghasra struggle to wear a headscarf at the 2006 Asian Games. She thought up the idea during the London 2012 Olympics when she learnt of an American athlete who was told her Islamic headscarf did not meet health and safety requirements. The hijab is a fitted, breathable version of the traditional scarf worn to conceal Muslim women's hair and chests. It uses a breathable fabrics which is designed to fit comfortably around the head. In April 2016, she launched her own line of sports hijabs. Begum designed her own line and outsourced manufacturing to a factory in Pakistan, after trying unsuccessfully to line up a manufacturer in England. In September 2016, Begum signed with Shakir Entertainment Management in New York City.

Media appearances

In June 2011, Begum was interviewed by Anwarul Hoque on BBC Asian Network. In August 2014, she was interviewed by Sunny and Shay Grewal on BBC London 94.9. In March 2015, she was interviewed by London Live. In September of the same year, she was interviewed by Sky News.

In April 2016, Begum starred in Selfridges advert Incredible Machines to celebrate body confidence.

Awards and recognition

In May 2012, Begum was shortlisted for the Muslim Women's in Sport Foundation Ambassador Awards for the United Kingdom Sportswoman of the Year award held at Wembley Stadium.

In January 2012, she was named in the British Bangladeshi Power 100 for her work in education, culture and sports. In February 2012, she won a special achievement award at the Canary Wharf Sports Awards.

In September 2013, Begum was awarded Sports Personality of the Year at the Asian Achievers Awards.

Championships and accomplishments

Personal life

Begum is a Muslim and does not drink alcohol. She is 5 feet 3 inches tall. Begum suffers from a rare form of chronic fatigue syndrome known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).

In March 2012, Begum met Queen Elizabeth II at Walthamstow Town Hall, during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee tour of the UK. She was selected to be an Olympic torchbearer in recognition of her sporting achievements and community work, helping young people to engage in sports and giving them a focus in life in the East London community. On 21 July 2012, she carried the Olympic Torch in Greenwich, London.

In March 2016, Begum revealed her coach, Bill Judd, is terminally ill with cancer.