A bloodied Daung Nyo Lay (R) of the Daung Myanmar kickboxing club lands a blow against Win Tun, representing the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, during their light-welterweight semifinal bout at Thuwunna Indoor Stadium, Yangon, on September 1, during the Golden Belt Championships. Win Tun won the fight by knockout in the third round. Pic: Lwin Maung Maung

NO Myanmar kickboxers at the Golden Belt Championships in Yangon have been caught using amphetamines to enhance performance, an official from the Myanmar Traditional Boxing Federation said last week ahead of the finals on September 9.

U Win Zin Oo, the federation’s joint secretary, said doctors had been giving fighters rudimentary checks by looking in their eyes with a flashlight minutes before they entered the ring at Thuwanna Indoor Stadium.

But despite all fighters being cleared up to the last day of the five-day tournament spread over three weekends, U Win Zin Oo said match officials had to remain vigilant.

“Boxing is a power game which needs more strength and energy than any other sport. So some boxers may use drugs to increase their endurance.
“It would be better to test all participants for drugs (using urine or blood samples) but the cost would be too much so we decided on this system (of superficial inspections) because all members of the federation are volunteers,” he said.

However, for the first time the 77 competitors at the Golden Belt Championships were given the option of having their opponents tested more thoroughly if they agreed to pay the K50,000 laboratory fee should the fighter subsequently be cleared of drug use.

If drugs were detected, the fighter in question would be expelled from the tournament and face a disciplinary hearing to determine the length of suspension.

“But there have been no complaints at all after the semifinal matches and almost all boxers know the (health) risks of using these drugs so avoid doing it. Still, I couldn’t guarantee there is no drug use,” U Win Zin Oo said.

Dr Saw Ivan, chief of the Myanmar Traditional Boxing Federation’s medical team, said kickboxers also needed to be cautious about consuming certain over-the-counter energy drinks that, he claimed, could contribute to a fighter testing positive for a banned substance.

“We told all boxers not to drink some energy drinks during the tournament because some ingredients in those drinks may show up as chemicals from illicit drugs,” said the medical doctor who has worked with kickboxers for the past 15 years.

He did not identify what ingredients athletes needed to avoid but said energy drinks such as locally made Shark and Thai imports like Lipovitan, M-100 and M-150 were popular among boxers looking for some invigoration during recovery.

Dr Saw Ivan said drug use was not new to Myanmar kickboxing and several cases of fighters using amphetamines to give them some extra buzz had been uncovered in the mid 1990s.

“In those days, doping tests were not common. But in recent years boxers have been becoming more aware that using these drugs is very harmful to health, and coaches have also played an important role in educating boxers,” he said.
Another talking point in Myanmar kickboxing at present is the risk of HIV transmission in the ring.

U Win Zin Oo last week said that both doping and HIV tests would need to be introduced before Myanmar kickboxing’s stature could grow internationally.
However, more cooperation from senior sports officials and the government was required to make this happen, he said.

“I’m aware of this issue and that HIV checks are needed in boxing because it is a major health concern,” he said, adding that kickboxers faced greater risk of acquiring HIV outside the ring.

“Sexual intercourse and injecting drugs are much more likely to lead to infection. One thing we could do right now is educate boxers about the risks in their daily lives,” U Win Zin Oo said.

Dr Saw Ivan added that he had never heard of a case of HIV being transmitted between kickboxers during a fight.

“If we make HIV tests mandatory for all boxers at a tournament, it’s not going to be easy because those tests require voluntary counselling,” he said, referring to the common practice in Myanmar of educating people about HIV and AIDS before a test is conducted.

“If boxers aren’t willing to do this then we won’t have a chance because it’s up to them.

“This is an important issue for traditional boxing but in practice it needs more time (to educate competitors),” he said.

Kyar Yine, a 19-year-old kickboxer from Tanintharyi Division who made the middleweight (75kg) final on September 9, said he had no knowledge of any boxers using illegal drugs and was not concerned about the threat HIV posed to competitors.