Ma Long (R) leading students to practice boxing

Every Saturday sees a group of students practicing punches with aggressiveness on the 2nd playground of Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU). Actually, it is a 48-member boxing club set up this March by Ma Long, an Egyptian graduate majoring in Plant Pathology of the College of Plant Science & Technology. To enhance their skills, he asked for help from his elder brother, a prizefighter who came specifically from Egypt.

Foreign coach’s class for amateurs

The boxing club was packed with trainees at 7 p.m. Different from his usual aura as a dedicated student, he commanded on the sport and demonstrated how to maneuver punching movements after warm-up exercise. “He throws punches swiftly and moves feet with agility,” the newcomer Reham thumped up toward Ma Long’s teaching, who is an Egyptian student from the College of Engineering.

Ma Long then shuttled back and forth among students who practiced in pairs to give them hands-on demo. After the one and a half hour training, tense training atmosphere was dissipated, followed by mirth for they played the game “crocodile-like crawling”. Zhao Chenxi from the College of Engineering said, “We can learn a lot from the short weekly training. On top of that, we have made many new friends instead of being hindered by the language barrier.”

Overseas student’s penchant for boxing

When it came to his penchant for boxing, Ma Long put it proudly, “It is my brother that has led me inside boxing.”

Despite the young age at 15, OmarMagdy turned prizefighter at 15 when he was only 9 years old. Not a single in-ring video of his brother was missed by Ma Long. OmarMagdy was invited to teach boxing without payment after the club had been set up, showing their close brotherhood. “My brother always shares his experience over the phone regarding how to train members of the club,” said Ma Long, “He is putting his back into the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.”

Ma Long wishes to hold a boxing match on campus. “ Although our club is fledgling, all the members and I are confident to build it bigger and better. I hope more students in HZAU can know about and love boxing via me and the club, and I’d like to lead my boxing team to join in large-scale matches if there is any opportunity.”

Tr. by Pan Nan