Taekwondo athlete Aman Kadyan recently became the first Indian to qualify for World Taekwondo Grand Prix. All excited to travel and compete for the tournament, next month in Rome, the 22-year-old Haryana boy shares how he was “always a sporty kid”, but found his calling accidentally while “running away from the classroom”.
“At the age of 13 (in 2013) I remember wanting to skip the first period of mathematics,” says the Jhajhar-born black belt star recalling how it made him take to taekwondo. “I never liked maths! I spotted some sports activity going on in the school playground and that turned out to be a taekwondo class. After that day, I started going for it regularly, and soon began one of the best taekwondo trainings in my district. Then started a spate of competitions at district and state levels and I began coming back home holding medals,” he recounts.
But Kadyan’s heart couldn’t be content with the laurels at district level. And to satiate his passion to achieve greater heights led him to Delhi. “It’s human nature to want more, and it with this thought of growing in sports that I joined a professional academy in Gurugram,” informs the athlete who has previously won gold at the Indian Open International 2019, and silver at WT President Cup in the Oceania Region in 2019. He adds, “We had already moved from Jhajjhar Beri to Rewari for better opportunities and education, and this was the second time I moved for better opportunities in life. I’ve been training for seven years now. Success isn’t an overnight process, and there have been lows in my life as well. But, I keep well-wishers like family, coaches and seniors close to me; people who I know really want me to succeed!”
Making history by becoming the first Indian to be selected for the coveted championship — which allows participation of only 31 athletes from the world over — the young star shares how he, “was awaiting the email for the whole day”. But, it didn’t come! “I was returning from the academy to my hostel the next day, and that’s when I got the notification. Immediately I dropped my bag in the middle of the road and ran back to my coach to hug and share the news with him,” says Kadyan, informing that his feat is based on Olympic ranking, and he has the highest ranking by an Indian athlete ever, which made possible for him to directly qualify for the event in Rome.
{{/usCountry}}Making history by becoming the first Indian to be selected for the coveted championship — which allows participation of only 31 athletes from the world over — the young star shares how he, “was awaiting the email for the whole day”. But, it didn’t come! “I was returning from the academy to my hostel the next day, and that’s when I got the notification. Immediately I dropped my bag in the middle of the road and ran back to my coach to hug and share the news with him,” says Kadyan, informing that his feat is based on Olympic ranking, and he has the highest ranking by an Indian athlete ever, which made possible for him to directly qualify for the event in Rome.
{{/usCountry}}Currently, under a strict preparation regime, including training, nutrition, physiotherapy, recovery and psychological sessions, the player has his eyes focussed on the Asian Games and World Championships this year, and of course on “2024 Paris Olympics”, for who can deny the significance of an Olympic medal in a sportsperson’s career!
Author tweets @siddhijainn
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