SINGAPORE - A little over a year ago, Calros Ong was a secondary school student who was, in his own words, "clueless" about boxing.
Thirteen months after putting on his boxing gloves, the 17-year-old competed in his first overseas competition at the Aug 15-21 Sarawak Open Boxing Championship, where he picked up the Best Youth Boxer Award.
"Honestly, I don't have many words to describe how I feel," Calros, who fights as a bantamweight (Under 54kg) told The Straits Times.
"It's really crazy how I got this one year after taking up boxing. I haven't even boxed at the Nationals (Championship) before. But I know how much effort and hard work I put into this. So it's a very precious trophy to me."
Calros began boxing in July 2021 when he and a group of friends attended a trial class at a local boxing gym. He was the only one who signed up for a membership. From there, he fell in love with the sport and started exploring opportunities to compete at the amateur level.
National co-coach Muhamad Ridhwan said Calros has "great potential", adding: "After this tournament in Sarawak, he has learnt that it takes more than potential and talent to be at the top level.
"With the experience he gained, I'm sure he is going to be a better boxer in the ring and a better person overall. Coach Khai (assistant coach Khairul Anuar) and I look forward to be in his corner to see him win bigger fights."
Calros was one of three Singaporean youth boxers who competed in Kuching and all won gold medals in the youth (16-18 years old) category.
The others were featherweight (U-57kg) Abdul Wafi Idris, 15, and welterweight (U-67kg) Hazyq Danieal Yasrin, 18.
The Singapore squad who travelled to Sarawak also featured six boxers in the elite category, five of whom won medals (see box).
Ridhwan was heartened by the showing of the Republic's youthful squad - all but one of the athletes are aged 26 or under. The 35-year-old former athlete, a three-time SEA Games bronze medallist, was leading the squad for an overseas meet for the first time since being appointed in June.
He noted that the Sarawak Open featured two Malaysian national boxers who competed at the Commonwealth Games in August. Both athletes competed against Singaporeans, with Malaysian flyweight Abdul Qaiyum Ariffin beating Teo Wei Xuan in the semi-final, while bantamweight Imdad Shaharom defeated Arman Shah in the final.
Said Ridhwan: "I think the performance shows that our programmes and the structure in place is working.... Win or lose, we all showed we could fight, and all our athletes showed heart and skill."
Ridhwan and the other coaches in the Singapore Boxing Federation plan to up the intensity and frequency of their current training regimen as they plot a revival in the local sport. Mohammed Mukhlis Amat's welterweight gold in Bangkok in 1985 was the Republic's last triumph at the SEA Games.
Next up for Calros and his youth and senior teammates is the Syed Kadir Boxing Championships on Sept 10 at the Bedok Sports Hall.
The competition will feature boxers from Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia, including medallists from May's SEA Games in Hanoi.
The tournament will also serve as a qualifier for next year's SEA Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Elite boxers at Sarawak Open
- Teo Wei Xuan, 24 (flyweight, U-51kg) bronze
- Arman Shah, 35 (bantamweight, U-54kg) silver
- Ang Jin Yang, 24 (featherweight, U-57kg) bronze
- Chan Zhao Jie, 24 (light welterweight, U-63.5kg) bronze
- Khidhir Saniff, 25 (light middleweight, U-71kg) quarter-finalist
- Danish Husli, 26 (middleweight, U-75kg) silver
