Estonian kickboxer ahead of WBC title fight: more girls than boys in the gym now

Estonian kickboxer Astrid Johanna Grents will fight for a WBC international title on Saturday at the Tondiraba Ice Hall in Tallinn. The WBC is the World Boxing Council, a major sanctioning body. Her opponent is Ludovica Ciarpaglini of Italy. Grents, who won gold at the European Games in 2023, calls it the most important bout of her life, because a win would let her challenge for a world title.

She points to a change in who trains. When she began more than a decade ago, very few girls were boxing. Now, she says, girls sometimes outnumber boys in the gym, and she sees them showing more discipline about attending training. Speaking to the programme "Terevisioon", she added that the sport has grown hugely in Estonia.

From a hobby to a way of life

Grents, who fights under the name Asteroid, took up kickboxing 12 years ago while looking for a new hobby. She has also trained in classical boxing and kickboxing, but her main style is Muay Thai. She says the ability to defend herself brings confidence, and training has become such a part of her life that she cannot imagine skipping it.

She says the sport clears her head and is a great workout. In a session you cannot think about anything else; you have to be in the moment. She contrasted this with gym training, where people tend to scroll on their phones between sets. In kickboxing, three minutes of work are followed by a minute's rest, leaving no time for anything except catching your breath.