She may seem like just another school-going kid to you, but do not underestimate the tenacity of this otherwise slender-looking girl, as she’s got a punch that knocks the opponent down! Yes. We are talking about Tajamul Islam – the girl who knocked down her rival from the U.S. and won gold in the under-8 category of the 2016 World Kickboxing Championship in Andria, Italy. Let us know more about this little kickboxer from Kashmir.
Tajamul’s History
Tajamul is from Tarkpore, a small village in the Bandipore district, around 65 kilometers from Srinagar. She is a student of the local Army Goodwill School. She has a brother and two sisters, who are also kickboxers.
Tajamul’s kickboxing journey started in 2014 when she joined a local academy that trains young girls and boys in martial arts. Despite the lack of proper infrastructure or a sports complex in the district, wherein Tajamul could build professional skills in the game, the brave girl took up learning the sports and achieved feats that otherwise seemed impossible for her age and background. Credit also goes to the little girl’s coach Faisal Dar, who trained this little girl in a frosty open field with makeshift equipment.
The girl garnered appreciation and earned recognition at the national level when she won gold in the sub-junior category at the 2015 National Kickboxing Championship at the Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi. But wait! Tajamul isn’t just a kickboxing champion. She excels in Taekwondo and Wushu also!
The Inspiration behind Kickboxing
Kickboxing happened when Tajamul was about six years old. She watched a boxing match and wanted to learn the sport professionally. She considers kickboxing to be good self-defense, and girls and women should learn it for their safety. Now, that’s quite an important message to all the ladies out there who are reading this article! Learning self-defense is a must, and Tajamul’s achievements are certainly an inspiration for everyone to take up combat sports.
Tajamul’s Struggle – Social, Economic and Infrastructural Challenges
Tajamul has had her share of struggles and challenges to overcome. Her father works as a driver for a construction company and struggles to make ends meet. It was the Indian Army that supported her to travel to Italy to represent India. Moreover, girls participating in sports isn’t usual in her area. So, in addition to financial challenges, breaking conventional societal norms and convincing her parents were other concerns she had to deal with at such a tender age.
As mentioned earlier, she had no access to proper training equipment or infrastructure. This was another challenge for Tajamul to overcome on the way to become a world champion. However, despite the absence of a conducive social, economic, and infrastructural environment, Tajamul practiced for 25 hours a week to develop professional competence in the sport and become the brand she is today.
The Little Girl’s Achievements
Tajamul’s first achievement is her courage to walk the road less traveled and persevere in spite of diverse challenges. However, the little girl from Tarkpore has many national and international awards and recognitions to her credit, which is equally inspiring. Let us take a glance at some of them.
– Gold in the sub-junior category kickboxing event organized in Jammu in 2015
– Gold at the National Kickboxing Championship in Delhi in 2015
– Victory in six bouts in only five days to win gold for India in the under-eight category at the World Kickboxing Championships in Italy in 2016
– Barely 12 years old, Tajamul has opened an academy that trains over 700 children!
What Does the Little Kashmiri Girl Teach Us?
There’s so much to learn from this 12-year-old girl from Kashmir. One of the first things is to believe in oneself. Tajamul trained herself for only a year and built the confidence and trust to travel to Italy to compete on the global stage. Furthermore, she has proven that you can achieve everything you want and become a ray of hope for the country, regardless of your age, financial background, and prevalent social conditions.
