Meet Australia’s first Muslim women’s boxer to compete at the Commonwealth Games

Tina Rahimi is making waves in women’s boxing. Now she’s set to represent Australia at this year’s Commonwealth Games.

Tina Rahimi is set to become the first Muslim women’s boxer for Australia when she competes at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this year.

From Box Hill in Sydney, Rahimi gave up her career as a make-up artist to pursue boxing in 2018. At the time it was just a hobby, but it quickly became a full-time pursuit for the 26-year-old.

Competing in the lightweight boxing class (57kg), she has a 15-2 win-loss record, securing her a spot in the team of 11 boxers for the Games this July, and giving her the perfect opportunity to move her skills to the mainstream.

“From the moment I started, I have not stopped. I just loved it,” Rahimi told The Daily Telegraph.

“I was good at it and went to a fight night and it really motivated me.

“I’ve always embraced the physicality. I was never scared to get hit. I even sparred with the boys and I’d get hit by a punch and still come forward,” she said.

“I know that I have the potential and capability to get the gold, so I have really dedicated myself to the sport.

“It would make me really happy to win.”

She certainly has the pedigree for success. Her father Michael Rahimi was a champion wrestler and coach himself.

But Rahimi’s quick success is a testimony to her own determination.

Rahimi’s spot on the team will make her the first Muslim women’s boxer to compete for Australia, and the importance of this platform has not passed her by.

“It would be a big deal coming from a Muslim background,” she said. ‘Not many Muslim women have accomplished something like that.

“It’s a big community. I have to wear the hijab to cover my hair and have my arms and legs covered as well, so I do stand out.

“I feel like it would show anything is possible if you put your mind to it. That you can do anything. That just because you dress or look a different way, come from a different religion, that doesn’t mean it should stop you achieving your dream.”

Rahimi is documenting her journey for her 13,400 Instagram followers on her personal account, along with her business account Boxing With Tina, where she hopes to encourage women and girls of all backgrounds to take up the sport.

Rahimi is one of eight debutants in the Australian boxing team, and will compete alongside three-time Games competitor Kaye Scott, a trailblazer in the sport.

This is the second Australian team announced for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, after confirmation of the weightlifting representatives last week.

This story originally appeared in Body + Soul and has been reproduced with permission

Originally published as Meet Australia’s first Muslim women’s boxer to compete at the Commonwealth Games