No Coach. No Training Space. Yet This 19-Year-Old Scrap Dealer Made It to the Kickboxing Nationals
Mohammad Iftekhar Khan developed his interest in martial arts when he was just nine. He later became a scrap dealer, but did not let his passion die. He has already won several medals in Kickboxing, and is now all set to represent Maharashtra in the nationals.
Mohammad Iftekhar Khan developed his interest in martial arts when he was just nine. He later became a scrap dealer, but did not let his passion die. He has already won several medals in Kickboxing, and is now all set to represent Maharashtra in the nationals.
Meet Mohammad Iftekhar Khan, a 19-year-old scrap dealer. What sets this daily wage earner apart from everyone else is his incredible achievement in the field of kickboxing.
Khan will represent Maharashtra in the senior national kickboxing championship, which is scheduled to start on August 25.
Photo for representation purpose only. Source: www.ocasia.org
Coming from Uttar Pradesh, Khan developed his interest in martial arts and started training for it when he was just nine. For this, he started out in 2004 by studying martial arts and used to represent UP in junior nationals, under his coach Wasim Mohammad.
But he had to shift to Navi Mumbai about a year ago to make ends meet. He started working as a scrap dealer there. However, his love for the sport never died. In spite of all the challenges and without a coach in the new city, Khan managed to bag a gold and a silver at the junior national kickboxing championship, hosted by the Maharashtra Kickboxing Association in Pune last year. This victory made him more confident about his talent and he became positive about his career.
His confidence and hard work paid off as he was selected for the nationals in August to fight in the 57kg weight group. After World Association of Kickboxing Organization (WAKO) India confirmed his participation at the nationals, Khan started a rigorous training for the event which will take place at Salt Lake Stadium’s Sports Authority of India, Kolkata.
He did not even have a place to train himself until recently, when he found a small space in the Airoli Gurudwara.
He continues to train without a coach and takes guidance from his UP coach, Wasim, whenever the need arises. His search for a new coach is on. Down the road, this young player wants to serve the country as a soldier. For a 19-year-old who has no resources, Khan has proved himself to be a great sportsperson and we hope to see him playing at the international level soon.
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