It will be a historic day tomorrow when, for the first time in Japan, a professional title will be awarded to a woman. And one of the four that is in place in Japan for the mini-tournament to make up the title is Josefine Lindgren Knutsson, who in 2018 won the World Cup gold in Thai boxing.
- First, you feel honored to be in the first tournament ever. And then winning it would be even bigger, she tells SVT Sport.
In the tournament there will be two matches close to each other for the two who go to the final. And it's not something that Lindgren Knutsson is used to, because this will be the first time in her career that she will play two matches on the same day.
Charging has been long before tomorrow. Five months training camp where there was specific sparring based on the opponents she can get in the tournament.
- The shape is absolutely nothing wrong with. But I know it will be tough, so it will be very mental there so that the body will relax after the first match if I move on.
The fact that this is the first time a belt has been awarded to a woman in Japan is something that Lindgren Knutsson values very highly.
- It's huge. Here in Japan you notice that it is big. It's almost like their national sport. Although not everyone practices martial arts or kickboxing. For me it is also big. It's fun to get appreciation from fans in Japan as well as overseas.