Hashim Mansoor
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2016: Gold medal at Asian Championship
Saleem Pandit, Curfew gives Valley its very own karate kid, Nov 30, 2016: The Times of India
The Kashmir Valley has got its very own karate kid. Hashim Mansoor, 7, had to stay away from school for four months after his hometown was thrown into disarray following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter. Hashim, however, defied curfews and stone-pelting to turn up at a local karate academy every day . On Tuesday , his resilience paid off.His prize: the gold medal for India at the Asian Youth Karate Championship (AYKC).
“Remaining away from school for many months offered me enough time to practise the sport of karate. It was perhaps luck that I got so much time to practise under my coach,“ Hashim said.
Hashim's training was sponsored by his coach, Faisal Ali, who runs a small karate academy in Bandipora, the district that witnessed some of the Valley's most violent demonstrations. Ali's dedication to his pupils, however, produced not one but two champions. Eight-year-old Tajamul Islam, who secured first place at the world kickboxing championship in Italy, also trained under him.
“Hashim had a passion for sports for as long as I can remember. So he joined the local sports academy to learn the art of karate and his coach funded him for the AYKC,“ Hashim's father Mansoor Shah, who runs a small business, told TOI. Hashim's mother, Mehbooba, is a housewife, and the family resides in Nadihal, a small hamlet in Bandipora. A student in Class II at the Symbiosis School of Education, Hashim expressed his delight at winning the title for India. “I am thrilled to win gold for my country ,“ he said while talking about the three-day championship which concluded on November 29. Hashim had defeated com petitors from Bhutan and Malaysia in the first two rounds, and in the final round he defeated his Sri Lankan opponent to win gold. Participants from 19 countries took part in the tournament organised by the All India Youth Karate Federation. The boy will now represent India in the World Karate Championship in Europe in September 2017. “The victory of Hashim Mansoor was possible because of the hard work of his coach Fasil Ali Dar,“ J&K Youth Karate Federation president Ghulam Nabi Tantray said.
