Cape Town - Nuha Shah, 14 years old, is a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and Jiu-Jitsu fighter who has qualified for the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) Youth World Championships in Abu Dhabi in August 2022.
Shah first started competing in Jiu-Jitsu in 2016 and started doing MMA in 2018. She spoke about her progress and what her achievements meant for her
“A few months ago, I went for Western Province (WP) Trials, where I was assessed on my abilities. A few weeks later I received a message to say I qualified for the WP MMA team. I fought in the MMA Youth Nationals in Johannesburg and won.
“This qualified me to represent SA in the MMA Youth World Championships. It makes me feel proud of how far I’ve come but this only comes through hard work and commitment through the years,” she said.
Shah’s parents, Zahraa and Ghaalib Shah, also expressed their immense pride at their daughter’s achievement and lauded her commitment and hard work that she put in to get to where she is and believe the sky's the limit for their daughter.
Shah has been supported by Samantha Grass-Hesqua, who assists kids and people from disadvantaged communities.
“I help kids achieve their goals by fundraising and assisting with donations and I also sit on the board for an organisation called Souper Troopers who have a similar mandate.
“My daughter has competed and trained alongside Nuha for 5 years and as a parent I know how much this would mean to Nuha to be able to represent her country on an international stage,” she said.
Shah is currently in the process of raising R25 000 to cover the cost of flights and accommodation to go to the UAE.
Grass-Hesqua said that brands have been approached to help and anyone willing to help Nuha achieve her goal can contact her on [email protected].
Donations can be made on https://www.backabuddy.co.za/champion/project/nuha-shah.