Anucha Tasak was only 13 years old when he lost consciousness in the ring.

The young boxer has already completed more than 170 competitions in the five years of his sports career.

Video recordings that are distributed on the Internet after the fight show how the much larger and stronger opponent hits him several times in the face and on the chin.

Anucha's head then dangles limply behind the neck, eyes are directed towards the ceiling.

The boy passes out on the floor.

Two days later, he died of cerebral hemorrhage in the hospital.

Till Fähnders

Political Correspondent for Southeast Asia.

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    The boy shown in this photo report from the Reuters agency also took part in the boxing competition in 2018.

    Pornpattara Peachaurai, called Tata, is nine years old today.

    The wiry young boxer is not lacking in fighting spirit.

    Video images from the agency show him storming his opponent in the ring without hesitation.

    The cheers boom through the hall as he rams his knee into the upper body of the other boy with a tight grip.

    His 40-year-old mother, Sureeporn Eimpong, excitedly cheers for her son from outside the ring.

    After her son's victory, she holds a wad of money in her hands.

    In the Southeast Asian country, the boxing match called Muay Thai is the national sport. Kickboxing with the largely unprotected body contact also exerts its appeal on foreign tourists. In the evenings - if there are no corona measures in between - they gather in stuffy halls with humid tropical air that smells of sweat. You watch as the oiled boxers, panting from the exertion, attack each other with all hands and feet. Boxing matches for children are also part of the tradition. Some of the underage boxers even attract as many fans as the adult martial artists. During the big battles in Bangkok, up to millions of euros change hands.

    Officially, a few hundred children are involved nationwide, according to unofficial estimates there are as many as 100,000 to 300,000 children under the age of 15. The 2018 case sparked widespread discussion in Thailand about banning children from the ring. Doctors had also shown in a study that early boxing causes irreparable damage to children's brains. Doctor Adisak Plitponkarnpim from Mahidol University and other researchers examined the brains of 250 child boxers. Some of them showed serious injuries that could have lasting effects on the children's development.

    After the boy's death, a law was passed that was supposed to regulate the use of children more strictly for the first time. Boxing should be completely forbidden for children under the age of twelve, and between the ages of twelve and 15, children should only be allowed to enter the ring wearing helmets. But the draft never made it into parliament. Their national sport is too important to the Thais, and even the business with children's boxers is too lucrative. Connoisseurs say that every boxer who wants to achieve something has to start by the age of eight at the latest. The risk of injury is downplayed. Tata's mother also justifies the death of 13-year-old Anucha not with the brutality of the sport, but with the fact that the referee did not intervene quickly enough at the time.

    It is not uncommon for the young boxers, who often come from poor backgrounds, to bring a large part of the family income home. Tata also gives the money to his mother, as he reports to Reuters. "I'm proud to be a boxer for his and to make money for my mom," says the nine-year-old boy. With his income she was able to pay off her debts, says the mother. The boy's older sister is also active as a boxer. The prize money for the youngest is between 300 and 500 baht (eight to 13 euros). For poor rice farmers from the north of Thailand, where the boxers often come from, that is a not inconsiderable income. Boxing is thus also an escape route from poverty for children. Like many of them, Tata is currently waiting to get back in the ring soon.Due to the corona pandemic, all competitions have been canceled for the time being.