At 5:30am, Cha begins training at the local sports centre in Khlong Toei, Bangkok.
Cha goes for an early morning jog under the highway that runs alongside Khlong Toei, the largest slum area in Bangkok.
Breakfast at Lek's house in Khlong Toei, Bangkok. Cha and her younger brother stay here together with other young Muay Thai fighters Lek has taken in to train up.
Cha and the other Muay Thai boys at Lek's house in Khlong Toei, Bangkok.
Cha and the boys get ready for school as Lek monitors progress from the doorway of his home in Khlong Toei, Bangkok. Cha is the only girl Lek has taken in to be a professional Muay Thai fighter.
Cha waits for the boys to walk her to school from an alley in the Khlong Toei slum.
Cha unravels the long pieces of cloth she uses to wrap her hands during a Muay Thai fight while in her room in Lek's house, Khlong Toei.
Cha gets her hair braided a local hair salon in Khlong Toei, Bangkok. The women fighters ritualistically have their hair tightly braided before a match to keep their hair out of their faces.
Cha and her coach do weight training exercises at her local gym in Khlong Toei, Bangkok.
Cha practices her kicks in the ring at the Muay Thai gym while her coach looks on.
Cha takes a break in the ring from Muay Thai practice.
Cha and her friends cheer on one of the boys she lives with during a Muay Thai match held at a temple fair in honor of Loy Kratong in Rayong, Thailand.
Cha and Lek give advice to another young woman Muay Thai fighters half way through a match held at a temple fair in Rayong, Thailand.
Cha's name is announced in a line up of fighters at a local friendly Muay Thai tournament in Samsen, Bangkok.
Cha has tiger balm massaged into her muscles by her coach and one of the boys she lives with ahead of a friendly Muay Thai tournament in Samsen, Bangkok.
Detail of Cha's hair, tightly braided ahead of a Muay Thai match in Samsen, Bangkok.
Cha waits for her match to be announced in Samsen, Bangkok. Tournaments will often go on late into the night. It is 10pm before she is called up to the ring.
Cha looks up at Ratchadamneorn Stadium's Muay Thai fighting ring just before heading out on stage to be introduced as the next fighter.
Cha and an opponent fight in Ratchadamneorn Stadium, Bangkok. This is Thailand's biggest Muay Thai stadium.
Cha and an opponent in a headlock in Ratchadamneorn Stadium, Bangkok, as Lek in the foreground cheers her on.
Lek offers Cha advice during a break from her match at Ratchadamneorn Stadium, Bangkok.
Cha's opponent sustains a head injury half way through the match and is seen by a medic at Ratchadamneorn Stadium, Bangkok.
Cha poses with tourists on a stag do, having won her fight at Ratchadamneorn Stadium, Bangkok.
Cha counts out her winnings from her match at Ratchadamneorn Stadium, Bangkok.
Cha, Lek, and some of the other Muay Thai kids she trains with leave Ratchadamneorn Stadium, Bangkok, after her tournament ends.
Cha and her cat "Gold" relax in her bedroom in Lek's house in Khlong Toei, Bangkok.
She Came From Thailand’s Biggest Slum. Now She’s One of Muay Thai’s Top Rising Stars.
Until 2022, Thailand’s most prestigious Muay Thai boxing venues did not allow women to even touch the ring, let alone fight in them. Some still believe menstruation has the potential to “pollute” sacred spaces. But fast-shifting perceptions and new stadium rules have opened up life-changing opportunities for young female fighters — especially those from low-income backgrounds.
One of these women is 19-year-old Cha. Like many other Thai professional fighters, Cha comes from a poor background and had a turbulent upbringing. Cha’s parents struggled with addiction throughout her life. In 2017, she and her younger brother Mek—also a Muay Thai boxer—decided to leave their parents and move in with Phichart “Lek” Phaophong, the manager of her local boxing gym.
Lek opens his home to youth who he believes have the potential to go pro, keeping them to a strict regimen of training and school, while taking a cut from their tournament winnings to cover costs. Through competing in local tournaments, Cha has been offered a scholarship to go to university to study Sport Science, making her the first in her family to pursue undergraduate education. With her future secured, Muay Thai has come to mean everything. Shot and written for VICE World News.