Srinagar: Afreen Hyder, the top female Taekwondo athlete from Kashmir, has continued her impressive run by winning a bronze medal for J&K at the senior National Taekwondo Championship.
Afreen, who has always represented Jammu & Kashmir with pride at the national and international levels, did so once more by winning a medal at the Senior National Taekwondo Championship, which took place in Maharashtra from February 10 to 12.
She is the first female taekwondo competitor from Kashmir to receive a medal in the Senior Nationals championship in Kyorugi.
Afreen in the championship was representing J&K and for it, she had been preparing for a long time. She lost her semifinal fight and had to settle for the bronze medal.
A Punit Bhalan Group-sponsored athlete initially was training under coach Atul Pangotra and now trains under former World champion Syed Hassan Razey.
“The feeling is good but not satisfied totally as bronze is not the colour I wanted. I was aiming for gold and I will win it next time InshaAllah,” Afreen said.
“My immediate aim and targets are the upcoming World Championship, Asian Games and ofcourse Olympics. However, to achieve that I have to work really hard and perform when it matters most,” Afreen said.
Last year Afreen bagged a bronze medal for India in the G2 level ranking tournament held in Ramla, Israel from August 11 to 13. Afreen may be the only one from Kashmir to have bagged a medal in such an event.
She has also been competing in the Champion of Champions competition being held in India.
Before that Afreen had participated in three back-to-back events in Iran from March 5 to 14, 2022 She participated in Asian Club Championship held on March 5 and 6 followed by Fajr Open from March 7 to 10. The third event was World Presidents Cup held from March 11 to 14.
Apart from International competitions, Afreen has bagged numerous medals and awards at the National and local levels. She has been bagging medals in National competitions, National School Games, and State And District championships since 2013.