DESTINY IN HAND

Medtech entrepreneur, mum of three and Muay Thai practitioner MARION ZHANG has notched up the wins by rolling with the punches.

- Lynette Koh

When meeting Marion Zhang for the first time, one might be struck by her exceptional slenderness. Certainly, the Beijing-born entrepreneur is the picture of chic delicacy the day of the interview, arriving in a flowy black and white Chanel jumpsuit complemented with diamond jewellery and an aquamarine ring, the large gem her birthstone. A few days later at our shoot, she fits easily into all the clothing on the racks, with room to spare.

Marion's slight physique and bejewelled, feminine style, however, belies a toughness that becomes apparent the more you know her. For starters, she practises Muay Thai thrice a week, having picked up the sport during the Covid-19 pandemic.

With a laugh, she recounts how she bundled her family, namely her husband and three kids, to a Muay Thai trial class two and a half years ago. "I wanted my kids to just do something during Covid," she says. "But nobody liked it except me. I loved it."

These days, when she is not travelling for business, she heads to a Muay Thai gym to do padwork with her trainer. Her two younger children, both boys, now a little older at 16 and 13, have also got into the sport following their initial resistance.

"It's good for relieving stress, and a proper form of self-defence," says Marion. Not that she would engage in combat in a hairy situation. "I probably wouldn't use it," she muses, "but at least it gives me a sense of reassurance, and time to run away."

FORGING HER FUTURE

Taking up martial arts is in line with Marion's curious, plucky nature. Born to a director and screenwriter dad, and a mum who was a Beijing opera actress, she moved to the US right after graduating from university with a degree in international trade.