Bank teller set for TV stardom

A softly-spoken bank teller keeps a dangerous secret - she has a vicious right-hand punch.

Sarah Rankin, from Te Puke, is hoping to exercise it when she leaves her job at Westpac Bank next month to travel to Thailand and compete in a reality TV show.

The 23-year-old is still pinching herself after being plucked from hundreds of kickboxers for the US-produced show Tuff Girls, which is marketed as the female equivalent to boxing show The Contender.

Ms Rankin was the only New Zealander chosen after a gruelling audition in Sydney in February, which she paid her own way to enter.

After just a year of competitive fighting, she feels she has thrown herself in the deep end by competing in the home of Muay Thai, or Thai kickboxing.

"Every now and then I get a few butterflies and think 'What am I doing?' but whether I win or lose at least I can say I competed in Thailand."

She began the sport four years ago to ensure she didn't fall into a sedentary lifestyle.

"I was the tomboy of my family, and my father did kickboxing. I've always been a competitive person, so once I started training I thought 'I wanna have a fight'," she said.

Despite having a mixed record in her bantamweight division - she has won two and lost two - the show's organisers felt she had the technique to compete against 13 kickboxers from the US, Europe, Australia and Thailand.

"They filmed every minute of my training, punching bags and pads, shadow boxing, and sparring ... and apparently I have a solid, straight right-hand [punch]."

The sport - which makes use of punches, kicks, elbows and knee strikes - requires great discipline. Ms Rankin expects to lose 10kg before the contest, competing at a wan 52kg.

She sheds her bank clothes immediately after work and "goes into fight mode", training for hours every evening.

She expects to return to Westpac in August, hopefully more decorated. If she makes it through the elimination rounds to the final five, she could win a World Boxing Championship title fight against a Thai champion.

Her final hurdle in travelling to Thailand is finding $5000 in sponsorship before she leaves in July.