Muay Thai’s Forgotten Female Star Made Her Name Facing Men in the Late ’80s

Muay Thai’s Forgotten Female Star Made Her Name Facing Men in the Late ’80s

Muay Thai in the 1980s had a rigid hierarchy. Traditions dictated that women couldn’t even approach the sacred ring apron, but one fighter shattered every convention. Jairak Saknonhan emerged from Khon Kaen province to challenge not just gender barriers, but the sport’s most fundamental assumptions about who belonged in the ring. While Thailand’s premier venues — Lumpinee and Rajadamnern stadiums — remained firmly closed to female competitors, J…