Srinagar, Jan 12: International Taekwondo athlete Faizan Ali has bagged a silver medal in 70-kg weight category at 6th National Taekwondo Championship held in Odisha.
Faizan who hails from Lal Bazar area of Srinagar has secured the medal, showcasing his prowess in the sport.
Being a versatile athlete, Faizan has excelled in various disciplines such as taekwondo, pencak, silat, wushu, karate, hapkido, hogam, trekkign and more.
Faizan started playing Taekwondo from 2010 when he was studying in a Srinagar school where from he used to go for practice to the Indoor Stadium.
“I started playing from a very young age. I used to go to Indoor Stadium for training. There were lot of teachers who trained me. Gradually I played a district match in 2010. It was my first match at Indoor Stadium wherein I won gold. With the passage of time I started playing State matches as well which gave a boost to my passion towards the sports,” Faizan said.
He said being a Kashmiri it was an honour for him to represent India at international level. “Till now I have represented J&K almost 11 times and I’m thankful to Almighty for providing me an opportunity. I have won 6 gold, 5 silver medals so far and I hope more feathers will be added in my crown in times to come,” he said.
Faizan attributed his success to his coach, Parvez Hussain whose guidance and mentorship have played a key role in shaping his athletic career.
He believes that everyone need to set a goal prior to beginning a journey and maintain good health for braving life’s odds. “Goal without a plan is just a dream, and for achieving dreams, good health is must,” he said.