From table tennis pro to world number one in boxing – “I never thought I would become a professional fighter”

After nearly a decade at the top of Swedish table tennis, Linn Sandstrom left it all behind and moved to Australia. A boxing gym down the street opened up a new way, one through a tough, male-dominated sport. Today, she is ranked number one in the world by the WBA and is fighting for a world title. “I never give up, and one day I will reach my goals”, she says. 

Nine years ago, Linn and her then boyfriend, now husband, decided they needed a new challenge. Linn had quit her career in table tennis and completed a degree in marketing. After graduating, she started working in Vaxjo, which is a small town in the south part of Sweden. However, both of them began to feel a strong urge for change and started thinking about moving somewhere new. With Linns demand on living in a warm place and his of living in a big city they landed on Sydney, with no research being made.

”It was a bit of a coincidence, we just took a chance and moved, and now nine years later we are still here.”, Linn Sandstrom says.

With a background as one of Sweden’s top table tennis players, Linn struggled at first. Without the daily training and routine of a professional athlete, she did not quite feel like herself in Sydney.

”Before, my whole identity was being an athlete. So when I stopped, I kept thinking, what do I do now if I’m not an athlete? I really missed being one.”

It was as if it was meant to be when a boxing gym opened on the street of her new home in Sydney, and she decided to give it a try. The sound of gloves hitting pads, the focused energy in the room, she had no idea then that this place would end up changing the course of her life.

“At first, I just thought it was a really good workout,” she says. “Honestly, I think it was a coincidence that it happened to be a boxing gym. But then I got this idea that I wanted to fight. And I thought, okay, now I have to take this seriously.”

That moment became a turning point.

“I realized that boxing is very different from table tennis, in this sport, you can actually get hurt if you are not good enough. So I decided to go all in, almost from the very beginning.”

Still, she never imagined how far it would take her.

”I never thought when I walked into that gym that I would become a professional fighter.”

The discipline and dedication she developed playing table tennis laid a strong foundation for her boxing career.

”When I played table tennis, I was very dedicated and made sure not to get distracted, for example I stayed away from partying to keep my focus.”

”I have done very well in a sport before, so why shouldn’t I be able to do it again?”

What started as a way to fill the void left by table tennis turned into something bigger. Today, she is fulfilling her dream by traveling around the world to train and compete, all while meeting new people along the way. The next adventure is a trip to Tokyo to train for two weeks, followed by a short stay back in Australia before heading to the USA for six more weeks of training.

But despite the many advantages, life as a professional female boxer also comes with its challenges.

”When I started boxing, female boxing was not that big, I would get extremely bullied, I got a lot of hate both from boys and girls in the sport, it was brutal.”

“There is a lot of bullshit you have to deal with. You need really thick skin to handle it”, she continues.

Despite the bullying Linn kept believing in herself and never gave up. What made her get through it was her great team, and support from family. And also her own determination and love for the sport.

”That is what I am most proud of in my career, that I never gave up, and now I am ranked number one in the world by the WBA.”

Since Sandstrom stumbled across boxing by chance, she does not come from a boxing family. However, her family has played a big part in her career. They still live in Sweden but make an effort to come to her matches whenever they can. They travel a lot to support her, having attended fights in London and even a photoshoot in Barcelona.

“We actually see each other quite often, so it works out really well.”

Although they are very supportive, they are also somewhat worried about the toughness of the sport.

”My family was very scared when I started boxing, they still think it is a bit scary to come and watch me.”

As she moves forward in her career, Sandstrom has a clear goal.

”Now I want to be a world champion. As I said, I’m ranked number one in the world. So absolutely, I’m aiming to win the world title next.”

In April last year, she got the chance at the world title, facing the current world champion, Clara Lescurat. A match that did not go in Sandstorm’s favor. She had torn her achilles tendon nine months earlier and was happy that she could fight at all.

”I still take with me that I belong to the world elite. Now that I get another chance, I will just train even harder and give it my all.”

To reach her goal, she follows a demanding schedule week after week.

”I spar three times a week (practice fighting with a partner in the ring), do cardio four times a week, strength training twice a week, and I box six times a week.”

In addition to her intense training schedule, Linn puts a lot of focus on recovery. Her routine includes red light therapy, which uses specific wavelengths of light to reduce inflammation and speed up healing. She also uses oxygen compression boots that improve blood flow. Cryotherapy exposes her body to extreme cold for a short time to ease muscle pain and promote faster recovery. Floating massages help relax her muscles. On top of the physical recovery, she also works several hours a week with a mindset coach, all to maximize her performance.

”All my time goes into boxing, when I don’t train I go to fight shows and support my teammates.”

Another challenge Linn has faced during her boxing career is the corruption within the sport. She explains that sometimes it is obvious to her and everyone watching that she won by a large margin but the judges still gives the victory to the opponent.

”That to me is really sad about the sport, when things aren’t fair. If you win, you should win. If you lose, you lose. But when it all comes down to someone’s opinion, that’s the worst part.”

To reduce the risk of corruption, her and her team ask for neutral judges who are not from the city of the opponent.

”Other than that there’s not much you can do about it, just make sure that when you step into the ring you make it as convincing as possible, so that there are no question marks.”

While the sport is not always fair, it has still given her more than she ever expected. Boxing has helped her grow in many ways, both physically and mentally.

”The best part is how much you grow personally. You become mentally tough, physically strong, and gain a lot of self-confidence. You learn a lot of discipline and how to handle setbacks. It really is a journey of personal development.”

Despite all the challenges, if she had the chance to redo her career, Linn would still do everything the same way.

”I don’t regret anything I’ve done. No, I wouldn’t do anything differently, actually.”

Female boxing is still growing worldwide, and athletes like Linn play an important role in breaking stereotypes and inspiring young girls. Today, she is not only training herself but a lot of other girls, with the youngest at an age of nine and the oldest at 50 years.

”You can really see that they get a lot of power from boxing, they grow, they become really well trained and gain higher self confidence. They also really love it.”

She would recommend any girl who’s interested to just start, because there are so many advantages that come with the sport.

What advice would you give other young girls who want to get in to boxing?

”Just start, go your own way, do not listen if someone says that you are not gonna make it, really back yourself to one hundred percent.”

Anja Magnusson