New Delhi: Once again history has been created in the world of sports. Tajamul Islam, hailing from Kashmir bagged the gold medal in the World Kickboxing Championship in the U-14 category held in Cairo, Egypt October 22. The 13-year-old girl is the first Kashmiri girl to have represented India in the tournament which was held from October 18-24. Argentina’s Lalina was defeated in the hands of Islam in the final round.

Islam, in total, played four bouts in the event. Her first two matches were against the native people of Egypt whereas her third and fourth bout was against players from France and Argentina respectively. Considering the final, though her opponent was quick, she kept “cool and it paid off.”

 

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Being the third of the five children of her parents, Islam was born 56 km away from Srinagar in Tarkpora, which is a remote village in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district. Currently, she is in the 7th standard in Army Goodwill School in Bandipora and also represents Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme as the brand ambassador.

In 2016, she represented India in Italy in the U-9 category of kickboxing where 90 other countries took participated. She won gold even as an eight-year-old kid. In this world championship, 30 players represented India in different age and weight categories.

“I can’t express how proud I feel. It was seriously like ‘kya ye mai hi hun?’ (is it really me?). By doing hard work you can do anything,” Islam said to News18 in an interview.

“In Cairo, when my final bout was with Argentina. I had two bouts with Egypt because the participation from there was a lot. They would hoot everytime like ‘Egypt, Egypt’ and it felt so good to beat them when everyone would go quiet,” she added.

“I was nervous, there was pressure also, chance at a second world championship and it was like I have to become a two-time world champion. I have to keep going forward, not just two but three, four, five times I have to win. I don’t have to stop now and take my game forward professionally,” she concluded.

In the future, Islam expressed that she wants to become an orthopaedic surgeon and joking stated, “I want to break as well as join the bones by becoming a ‘bone and joint’ doctor.”

She said that her mother always encouraged her and mandated her father to allow her to play kickboxing.

Congratulatory wishes flooded the social media following her win. Amongst others, Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha wished her on her achievement.

Many congratulations to Tajamul Islam of Bandipora for scripting history in Cairo Egypt by winning the Gold medal at the World Kickboxing Championship 2021. Our young kickboxing champion has done exceptionally well over the years. pic.twitter.com/8dG5NCYKOq

— Office of LG J&K (@OfficeOfLGJandK) October 28, 2021

“I feel very proud of my daughter. The news of her winning the gold has spread in the area. Tajamul got into kickboxing in 2014 when she joined a local academy, which trains young boys and girls in martial arts in Bandipora,” said Islam’s father.