BANGKOK - Mr Waiwit Wongkhan, better known as "Petchdam", his moniker in the boxing ring which translates to black diamond, cannot wait to return to his full training regimen and win more matches.
Thailand is set to reopen gyms on June 1, and boxing stadiums possibly later next month.
"I'm excited to get to box again and see my friends who will come here to train. I can't wait for the same ambience as before," said the 22-year-old multiple winner of the One Championship competition organised by Asia's biggest mixed martial arts promoter.
Unlike most of the 40 or so other Muay Thai fighters at Petchyindee Academy in Bangkok who went home during the lockdown, which was imposed in mid-March, Petchdam and a few other boxers remained in a shared dormitory in the gym compound.
"I didn't want to go home because people in my neighbourhood think Covid-19 was spread by boxers. But actually, it was not us the boxers," said the native of the north-eastern province of Ubon Ratchathani.
Coronavirus outbreaks were reported at Bangkok's boxing stadiums in early March during big matches attended by thousands of spectators who then spread it to other parts of the country. Hundreds of people, mostly spectators and their close contacts, were confirmed to have contracted the virus.
"We are like scapegoats. Many people assumed that any boxer would have Covid-19. I myself even got bullied by people in my hometown, so I decided not to go home and stay here," said Mr Anurut Wannasert, 28, a Petchyindee trainer who comes from Maha Sarakham province in the north-east.
Petchdam normally woke up at 5.30am to train for four hours, and then three hours more in the late afternoon. The training involved running on a treadmill, weightlifting, practising punching and kicking techniques, and other exercises.
But, with gyms closed, the flyweight champion wakes up later and has scaled down his training by half - to only 3½ hours of running outside the gym each day - two hours in the morning and an hour and a half in the evening.
Taking up the sport at the tender age of 10, Petchdam joined many Thais who begin competing at a young age, with prize money the main lure. Last year, he won four out of five One Championship matches.
"I really want to resume training and fighting. I want to keep making money for my family again," said Sombat "Praewprao" Janpong, another boxer at Petchyindee.
The ban on boxing matches means a disruption in earnings.
Like Petchdam, Praewprao received a few hundred baht a match at the beginning. Now the 21-year-old earns about 80,000 baht (S$3,550). "I want to keep fighting until I earn enough to buy my own house at least," he said.
The reopening of gyms on Monday will be part of Phase 3 of the gradual easing of lockdown measures since May 3, following fewer new cases of Covid-19 reported each day. The numbers have dropped significantly over the past month, at times only in single digits or even zero.
Other venues reopening next week include cinemas, theatres, spas, massage parlours, beauty clinics, zoos and some sports venues for training purposes only, such as swimming pools, football pitches, volleyball and basketball courts.
