Updated: July 11, 2011, 12:00 AM
The exceptional kickboxer
ABU DHABI, UAE - July 6, 2011- Ahmed Al Hosani watches the kickboxing moves his coach Juma Ben Jamma does before he tries them at World Gym in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday July 6, 2011. A rare illness left Ahmed Al Hosani deaf and mute at the age of two. All he wanted was to be like everyone else. As a member of the Abu Dhabi Special Needs club, Ahmed has found salvation in kick-boxing, turning professional last month. Recently he drew his first fight in Dubai and now wants to compete in the Olympics next year. (Andrew Henderson / The National)
Al Hosani, who works in the traffic police registration department, first joined a gym in 2005, but it was when he read about War on the Shore 2, a Dubai-based Muay Thai boxing contest in 2007 that go him interested in martial arts.
Al Hosani only wanted to be like everyone else. He was happy. But something was missing. He got a taste for kickboxing in 2007 and after convincing the Arab Boxing International Federation to grant him a licence turned professional in April this year.
Al Hosani now dreams of competing in the Olympics and becoming a champion. "I will never stop," the fighter said. "When people speak about kickboxing in the UAE, I want them to speak about me. For that to happen, I need to be a champion.�
The pair communicate through sketchy sign language or simply writing instructions down. "Ahmed has reached a high level of the sport very quickly," Ben Juma says. “It is very important for his life that he continues. I want Ahmed to prove that there are???
"I decided to learn any form of kickboxing," Al Hosani said and started training at World Gym in Abu Dhabi in 2008 after seeing an advert for Muay kickboxing.
Ahmed Abdul Raheem Ahmed Al Hosani, a UAE kickboxer, trains with his coach Juma ben Jama at World Gym in Abu Dhabi. A rare illness left Al Hosani deaf and mute since the age of two. Photos by Andrew Henderson / The National
Al Hosani's first professional fight was in April against Obeida abu Sheikha, a Jordanian fighter, in Dubai. “I was shocked about how nervous I was,� he recalls. “My legs were shaking as I climbed into the ring. However, I got a draw and that made m???
Al Hosani recalls: "I didn’t know much about Muay Thai boxing, but the more I read about it, the more interested I became. I knew then I wanted to participate in this sport. Why not? Just because I cannot hear or speak?"