BY KIERAN McCARTHY
ORAN Brady is hoping to sign off on his junior kickboxing days in style at the upcoming WAKO Youth World Kickboxing Championships in Budapest.
The 17-year-old Bantry teen is going for glory in his -84kg continuous light contact category as he targets the perfect finish to his medal-laden junior career which includes a bronze medal from the 2022 Worlds (older Cadet, +69kg) and a European silver medal in 2023.
Having played the lead role of Danny in Coláiste Pobail Bheanntraí’s transition year musical Grease earlier this year, gold is the one that Oran wants in Budapest, with the action starting on August 23rd. And the signs are encouraging.
Changing from full contact to the mats, he has had to tweak his style and focus on speed, and he’ll need to move like Grease Lightning to land the medal he wants
All his training for the past six months has been towards these world championships, and his medal haul shows he will be right in the mix. Six-time national winner Oran is the reigning Irish U18 -84kg kick light and light contact champion, while he won gold in the light contact category at the Italian World Cup, as well as bringing home a bronze medal in the points fighting category. At the Bristol Open the Ion Kickboxing Club fighter – the club is run by his father Bernard, who trains Oran – he added silver and bronze medals to his collection.
Bernard Brady knows what it takes to train a world champion as his older sons, Sean (2016) and Oisin (2022), have won world titles, and Oran is determined to make it an incredible hat-trick for this remarkable sporting family. The Bradys would like to acknowledge the ongoing sponsorship from the Eccles Hotel in Glengarriff.