Ava hoping to kick her way to Birmingham glory

YOUNG Strabane kick boxer, Ava Logue has a big two weeks ahead of her, as she bids to further enhance her fighting credentials within the kickboxing world.

Now 12 years old, Ava will first travel to Birmingham to fight for -45kg International title before going on to Shrewsbury the following weekend to take part in the ‘War of the Warriors’ -47kg K1 tournament.

Although both fights are important to her, the Birmingham bout is the big one – as her father and coach Aodhan explained, “Birmingham will see Ava fight in front of 2,000 people for an international title. She’s fighting against a very experienced 16-year-old.

“Ava has just turned 12 but is in no way intimidated; she has always maintained she’ll fight anyone, anywhere and is looking forward to the challenge.

“After that it’s on the road to Shrewsbury. Ava is looking forward to both fights; she’s in good spirits about them but has a few nerves.”

A gruelling 12-week training camp was on the cards so that Ava could fully prepare for the bouts.

Aodhan continued, “Preparations for the fights are going great. Ava focused on the boxing element for the first eight weeks of the camp, and has been slowly bringing her legs back into shape for the remaining four. It hasn’t been an easy camp; Ava has had to incorporate a whole raft of new techniques to be ready for whatever her opponent throws. It’s taken Ava out of her comfort zone but, in typical Ava-style, she’s smashed through it all with no complaint.”

Aodhan wants to issue a special thanks to Sean O’Neil from Ignite Sports Development for his hard work in the last few months, helping Ava work on her athletic development and increasing her kicking and punching power.

As ever, Ava will get all the support she can from dad Aodhan, mum Antoinette and her two brothers. Dad Aodhan concluded, “Win, lose or draw, we are extremely proud of everything Ava has achieved to date and we’re always immensely proud of her.”