Muay Thai to make debut at Paris Olympics as demonstration event

Muay Thai, the national sport of Thailand, will be featured as a demonstration event in Paris for the first time in the history of the Olympic Games.

Fighters from 24 countries will have the opportunity to showcase their skills in a specially-constructed Muay Thai stadium at Club France, laying a foundation for the fighting style to become an official Olympic event.

Muay Thai is a martial art where grace and ferocity coexist. Each strike is delivered with devastating precision, fighters push themselves to their limits, and the audience is drawn into their struggle.

With dreams of the sport making its Olympic debut growing bigger, the progress also comes with concerns that Muay Thai could lose its ancient traditions, as fighters wear little safety gear and the sport allows some moves that are banned in other forms of kickboxing. But following the sport’s Olympic recognition in 2021 after a two-decade journey, there has been a concerted effort to enhance safety by standardizing rules and improving safety protocols.

For now though, Thais are rejoicing that Muay Thai is one step closer to its Olympic dream.

"Thai people have been waiting for Muay Thai to be included in the Olympics for a long time. If it is included in the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles, it would be a huge success that is most worth the wait," said Thana Chaiprasit, vice president of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand.

As Muay Thai's popularity continues to soar, its influence is spreading far beyond its birthplace. Today there are more than 40,000 Thai boxing gyms worldwide, a growing legion of fighters.

Yet, there is one whose name stands above the rest, synonymous with both the ancient art and its modern resurgence -- Buakaw Banchamek. Boasting over 240 career wins and 74 knockouts, his influence transcends the ring as he is set to perform a Muay Thai demonstration at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"As someone who has helped promote this martial art around the world, I want people to appreciate the art of Muay Thai. We want to develop this to be an international sport where everyone accepts its rules and regulations. This important step excites our whole country as our fighters and our art form will be included in the world's biggest sporting event," said Buakaw.

Muay Thai to make debut at Paris Olympics as demonstration event

China's automobile industry showed a growing trend in August, with both production and sales of vehicles increasing month on month, while those of new energy vehicles (NEVs) recorded a double-digit year-on-year growth, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers on Tuesday.

In August, auto production and sales in China surpassed 2.49 million and 2.45 million units, respectively, showing month-on-month increases of 9 percent and 8.5 percent, with year-on-year decreases of 3.2 percent and 5 percent, indicating a smaller decline compared with the previous month.

During the January-August period, auto production and sales totaled about 18.67 million and 18.77 million units respectively, reflecting year-on-year growth of 2.5 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

In August, the production and sales of NEVs achieved 1.09 million and 1.10 million units, respectively, representing an increase of 29.6 percent and 30 percent year on year. The sales of NEVs in August account for 44.8 percent of the new vehicle sales in China.

In the first eight months of this year, the production of NEVs reached nearly 7.01 million units, rising 29 percent year on year. The sales of NEVs hit almost 7.04 million units, growing by 30.9 percent from a year earlier. The market share of NEVs in China reached 37.5 percent in the period.

On the export front, auto exports reached 511,000 units in August, marking a year-on-year increase of 25.4 percent. Among these, exports of NEVs totaled 110,000 units, showing a 22-percent growth year on year.

China's auto industry reports rising vehicle production, sales in August