From hobby to passion

"Our body is our strongest and most trustworthy weapon. All you need to know is the right technique," says Shubhankar Sehgal, 17, who is a black belt in taekwondo.

Learning taekwondo for nine years, he has won three gold medals, two silver medals and an official certificate of merit in taekwondo for Delhi. Rajdhani Enclave, Pitampura resident Shubhankar is a student of Heritage School, Rohini.    

Practise makes a man perfect
Shubhankar says, "This sport has helped me in inculcating self-discipline, moral culture and mental discipline. Besides physical ability and confidence, it has made me capable of facing crucial situations of life." Believing on perfection, Shubhankar practises taekwondo everyday for two hours.

Preparing for Asian Championships
Shubhankar played his first tournament at Talkatora Stadium in Delhi in 2004. Shubhankar then played in four national taekwondo tournaments in which he won a gold, two silver and was given a black belt. He participated in International Taekwondo Tournament in 2008 held in Goa and won a silver medal. Shubhankar is nowadays preparing for Asian Championships.

Source of Inspiration
"I never thought that I will reach this level. I started it as a hobby but it turned into passion when I met my inspiration," says this young taekwondo player. Rachna Chourasiya, international instructor is the one who turned Shubhankar from normal student to a taekwondo player. For many years, this young talent has learnt taekwondo under the guidance of Rachna Chourasiya.

Dream will come true
Shubhankar says, "In future, I plan to open a Taekwondo Academy so that people get to know more about this sport. I want to be an instructor. My school and parents have been very supportive."

Hidden artist
Apart from taekwondo, Shubhankar is a good artist as well. From paintings to crafts and from sculptors to tattoo making, he is perfect in all. These are his hobbies.

--Pooja Tiwari