From a near-fatal injury to winning fifth consecutive SGFI gold: Meet Martial Artist Chinmay Sharma

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New Delhi, June 30: Martial Art is a very popular sport in countries like Korea, Japan, and China, but it is still has a lot of catching up to do in the country of its origin i.e. India. However, in the past few years, the perception towards martial arts is has changed in this cricket-crazy nation.

Slowly and steadily, martial artists in India are also making their presence felt with their performances and Chinmay Sharma is amongst those. Chinmay - is one of the leading martial art players in the country and is set to represent India in major international tournaments - started training as a martial artist at the tender age of five and the 21-year-old has already experienced a lot of ups and downs in at an early age.

Chinmay is a 'Tang Soo Do', which is a Korean martial art based on Taekwondo and also includes fighting principles from subak, as well as northern Chinese martial arts.

The Delhi boy, during a training session in 2017 suffered an injury that later threatened his entire career for further damage that could result in paralysis. During his treatment, the doctor told Chinmay that he can't perform martial art again. But his love for the sport kept calling him back and despite the doctors' prediction that he won't be able to perform martial art again in his life, a determined Chinmay went on participating in the School Games Federation of India (SGFI) tournament.

While talking to MyKhel, Chinmay revealed how he got into the sport and eventually decided to make a career in it. He also narrated his journey and how the title of 'miracle boy' was associated with him.

Talking about his early encounter and then his love with martial art, Chinmay said, "My journey with martial arts started at a very tender age when I was five years old. My elder brother forced me to do it because he was a martial arts instructor. Since I was a very aggressive boy in my childhood, he decided to channel my aggression into something positive and that changed my life completely."

In a country that is obsessed with cricket, and every other sport getting sidelined, it's difficult to be a professional martial artist. Talking about the hardships he has faced as a Taekwondoin, Chinmay said: "Well we all know that India is a cricket dominated country. Everyone in this country wants to be an actor or cricketer but no one wants to be a martial artist. But I take pride in the fact that I am the first one to represent India for the world title in this format.

"Since the current titleholder is Pakistani martial artist, so I got some hype and that's why top sports apparel brands in the country such as Shiv Baresh, Puma, BODYFIRST supported me for the world title. But prior to that, it was very difficult because nobody knew about 'tang soo do'. I also trained for almost 16 years to get sponsored after winning 50+ medals, I finally managed to get noticed by big brands. However, there's a lot of awareness still needed in this sport and I wish to be the face of it in our country."

Recounting his near-fatal injury in 2017, following which the doctor said he will never be able to do martial arts again, Chinmay said, "My lower back got injured and I was not able to move for one month. The doctor warned if I do martial arts, the gap between my bone and muscles might increase which would leave me paralysed for the rest of my life and I will not able to walk again. But I couldn't sit like that and watch my teammates winning medals at the nationals. So I decided to take a risk in my life and a miracle happened the same year. I played SGFI games with a medical belt and grabbed my fifth consecutive gold medal in it. I got the title of undefeated at the SGFI tournament because I played five times and won the gold medal every time. Everyone started calling me 'The Miracle Boy' and I received the medal from Padm Shree wrestler Mahabali Satpalji. While people called it a miracle, I called it hard work and process."

Talking about his future plans Chinmay said, "Thanks to the blessing of God and my gurus, my application was accepted by several international tournaments last year, which means I can represent India at international tournaments now. Not just one, but as many as ten of my applications have been approved. I am confident of not just representing my country but also win lots of titles as well."