HO CHI MINH CITY: From her youth spent scraping a living on the streets, Nguyen Thi Thu Nhi has battled poverty and sexist prejudice to become Vietnam’s first boxing world champion.
The 25-year-old scored an enormous upset over defending champion Etsuko Tada of Japan in October to claim the World Boxing Organisation mini-flyweight belt in just her fifth professional fight.
It was a remarkable triumph for an athlete who rose from humble beginnings in a conservative society where women’s participation in sport — especially combat events — is often sneered at.
Nhi’s journey began when she turned to…
