China's Lyu Bin fights Peter Mungai Warui of Kenya in men's light fly boxing bout at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, August 8, 2016. (Photo: VCG)
YONGKANG, China, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Lyu Bin, who boxed for China at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, is set to fight Yutthana Kaensa of Thailand for the WBA International Super Flyweight Championship in his hometown on Thursday.
"I've been waiting for my chance," Lyu told Xinhua. "Now the time has come."
Lyu, 28, was known for his tearful defeat in the men's 49kg division at Rio 2016.
"What doesn't kill me makes me stronger," he said.
Despite falling short of his Olympic dreams, Lyu proved himself by claiming the national title in 2016 and then turned pro two years later.
Lyu, a native of Yongkang in east China's Zhejiang Province, has spent months in China's southwestern city of Kunming ahead of the upcoming WBA title bout, his first competitive fight in nearly five years.
"I've got a better grasp on speed and timing and have improved my punching technique a lot these years," he said.
Apart from arduous training, Lyu has struggled to maintain his weight at around 52kg - running 10km every morning and engaging in special training for two hours in the afternoon, and eating a high-protein, low-carbon diet every day for the past five years.
"It's absolute torture," he admitted.
"The hunger for food was huge, but my hunger for victory is even bigger.
"To do what I love is a real blessing for me. I feel like the second spring of my career has come," Lyu said.
Kaensa, 25, is an experienced name in Thailand's professional boxing circuit and has a record of 24-4, with three defeats in his last five fights.
