In his first competition, Yellowknife kickboxer travels to hometown in India and returns with gold

Immediately after a fast visit to his hometown in southern India, Gopi Rajkumar has returned to Yellowknife with a gold medal in kickboxing. 

After flying to a different continent — roughly 11,500 kilometres as the crow flies — the 38-yr-aged stayed for around a week right before travelling that distance all above again. But he was there long adequate to acquire the Tamil Nadu Entire world Affiliation of Kickboxing Corporations (WAKO) Championship for the beneath 75 kilogram reduced kick amateur classification. 

The championship happened on Might 21 to 22 in his hometown of Chennai, a city in the province of Tamil Nadu. 

In his very first at any time sanctioned fight, he reported he confronted a competitor who experienced a great deal of knowledge in the sport. But Rajkumar won handily and adopted it up by winning his second fight, earning him the gold medal.

Despite his lack of experience in kickboxing, he credits his upbringing for planning him equally mentally and bodily. 

“We experienced to combat by a whole lot of problems in India,” he claimed. 

There is certainly a single man or woman who he credits for that toughness he brings into the ring, his mom Revathi Rajkumar. 

His father passed absent when he was young, leaving Revathi to increase three kids on her individual, Rajkumar mentioned his mother  faced a whole lot of obstructions, but overcame them to supply for her kids. 

“For the 1st six years, she didn’t have any proper work,” he stated. 

“So it was a very really hard time. I’m in this article since of my mom.” 

Rajkumar is a father or mother himself, his spouse and one particular-and-a-half-calendar year-previous son are presently in India but he’s hoping they will be a part of him this summer season. 

Rajkumar claimed he came to Canada for position possibilities and the capacity to guidance his mother, which is what he is carrying out now, performing with the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Fee as a senior client company analyst. He credits his employer for staying so accommodating with his kickboxing. 

A previous track athlete, specializing in the 400 metre dash as properly as hurdles, Rajkumar reported when he 1st moved to Yellowknife 7 many years back, he wanted to uncover a different higher intensity activity, which led him to kickboxing, at some point joining Stanley Boxing and Fitness in 2020. 

“What we get here [Stanley Boxing and Fitness] for opposition is some thing you will not get everywhere,” Rajkumar reported. 

He claimed the education and the option to spar with persons at larger levels and different weight courses assisted prepare him for the proficient fighters he faced in India. 

John Stanley is the head kickboxing and boxing coach and co-owner of Stanley Boxing and Fitness. 

He mentioned he was amazed with Rajkumar’s gain, but admitted to at first sensation some hesitancy all-around the competition. 

“Gopi hadn’t competed but. It was a significant event. I know that definitely you will find a large population in India and we were not absolutely sure, you know, what the competition was going to be like. But I suggest he did phenomenal,” Stanley said. 

WAKO Canada and the Olympics

Rajkumar and 6 other fighters will be travelling to Niagara Falls, Ont. this 7 days to compete in the WAKO Canada Countrywide Championship. This calendar year will be specially competitive, as in 2021 the activity obtained full recognition by the International Olympic Committee, which means fighters will shortly be in a position to compete in the Olympics.   

“This is really the premier match in the history of WAKO,” Stanley reported, including there will be in excess of 500 athletes registered to contend this calendar year. 

With nine national championships, Stanley explained he’s hoping his gym can keep creating on the success. After a hiatus owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, he reported he thinks they can make up for shed time this year. 

“I believe that our athletes are undoubtedly ready. And, you know, I feel that you will find unquestionably a pair on the team that I am pretty confident can earn gold,” he reported.