Just as barriers were broken when Hollywood girl Cynthia Rothrock placed a kick in the air, one Bengaluru girl from Mount Carmel College was one of three who made heads turn at an international Karate tournament.
Geetanjali GK is currently doing her final year BA. She won the silver medal in the Indo Malaysian Category, which is open to girls of twenty years and above, at the 7th KK Goju Kai Karate tournament held in Kuala Lampur this Sunday.
The other two others were Deepthi Ajith Prakash and Ibapthur Rahumani from Madurai.
Malaysian Gojukai Association invited over 700 participants to compete. The chief guest was Dutto Gokulan Pillai, who is the former minister of foreign affairs in Malaysia.
The oldest winner, Geetanjali GK, won the silver medal in the Indo -Malaysian Category open to girls twenty years and above. She has always been passionate about karate.
“I started at the age of eight when karate classes were held in my apartment. The style of karate I practise is called Gojuryu. It is originated from Okinawa, Japan and means ‘hard and soft’ in Japanese,”she says
For her, karate is the the highest form of art. “Only when you perceive it as an art, can you feel the benefits it has on your body.If you see it as a sport, winning and securing laurels becomes the priority,” she said.
By getting up early in the morning to practise vigorous exercises, Geetanjali believes that Karate has disciplined her lifestyle. She says that she has never been harassed on the streets because she is equipped with the right defensive tactics. “Karate has been one of the reasons. The self defence aspect of this art has protected me from all evils. No one can or will mess around with girls who know martial arts,” she said with an air of pride
Another champion who made the country proud is silver medalist in the 14 and 15-year-old category, Ibapthur Rahuman. The tenth standard student from Velammal Vidyalaya School in Madurai is a green belt in Taekwondo, who only switched to Karate last year. “I prefer Karate to Taekwondo as it is more complex and includes blocks,” she said .
Deepthi Ajith Prakash, who is also a tenth standard student in a Madurai school. is the daughter of karate master Ajith Prakash. Hence, martial arts comes to her naturally. The fifteen year old has been training since the age of seven under her father. As of today, she possess 35 gold medals, 12 silver and four bronze.
Coach C Ajith Prakash trained the girls in karate for an entire year before the tournament. He studied in Japan and has 30 years of experience.
He wholeheartedly supports the Delhi Government’s order on compulsory judo-karate training in schools. He said, “I look forward to seeing this law passed in others parts of India, particularly the rural areas.”
He said that the Chinese are at an advantage and Indians need to improve on techniques.
“In any tournament where both Chinese and Indians participate, the Chinese have better chances of winning,” he said.
Courtesy of: The New Indian Express