When local lad Tanishq Arun started learning kickboxing in 2014 to reduce weight, little did he know that one day he would become an international champ in the sport.
Cut to 2018, the now 18-year-old kickboxer has a bronze medal to his credit from the ninth World Cup Diamond Kickboxing Championship in Russia and he is eyeing for more global glory.
Talking about his initiation into kickboxing, Tanishq, a student of Chennai Public School in TVS Colony said, “I used to be a big fan of boxing. I would watch fighters like Anthony Joshua and get motivated. But in reality, I was weak and overweight. So, I decided it was time to change and started learning kickboxing at Spitfire Kickboxing Academy.”
Just a few months after he enrolled, Tanishq started winning regularly at the State level. When he bagged his first national medal, Tanishq says that his coach Suresh Babu realised his potential and asked if he would like to compete at the international level.
“My coach said training would be 100 times harder and I had to get serious. I nodded yes and life changed,” says Tanishq.
But the change was hard like his coach foretold. For the last five years, Tanishq has been waking up at 4 am every day without fail. From 5 am to 6 am he would be running kilometres around the neighbourhood followed by physical training, cardio and stretches till 9 am. Tanishq would then rush to his school for regular classes. If you readers think the morning schedule is gruelling, wait till you read about the evening practice session.
After returning from school, Tanishq would commence physical training at 6 pm. This would be followed by match training, sparring and padding sessions till 9 pm to make him fit for competition. This is his schedule every day!
But Tanishq says that all this was worth it after winning a medal for India in Russia. He says, “My training sessions are deadly. But that’s what I love about it. I feel the hardest challenge was sticking to a fixed diet while everyone around you eats tasty food. But this helped me gain control and become disciplined.”
Tanishq says that he feels “alive” only after such gruelling training sessions. “Though I would always come home tired and lie down, these sessions make me feel alive. I would always want more of it even though the training sessions would feel like it was killing me,” he says.
Tanishq credits his undying spirit and achievements to his coach Suresh Babu. “He is one of the most motivating people I have ever met. And, my trainers, Manoj and Dhanraj are the best. Their level of commitment is tremendous.”
Tanishq also thanks his school, and PT teacher, Robin for arranging the Abhinav Bindra Scholarship that waived his school fees and allowed him to put in more funds for training and going for international tournaments.
But, right now, Tanishq who is studying in class 12 is waiting eagerly for the academic year to complete as he has put sports on hold for board exams.
“I really miss training. I am waiting to complete class 12 so that I can get back to training seriously and represent India in the Olympics,” says the determined youngster.
You can wish Tanishq at 9176667615.