Coimbatore :

Ten-year-old city girl, Sai Kunthavi, won the silver medal at the USA Open & Junior International Cup that was held in Las Vegas from April 2 to April 5 by the USA National Karate-do Federation. Sai Kunthavi has represented the country in five other international Karate events and three other national events.

At the age of seven when Kunthavi started learning Karate just for self-defence, her master recognized her talent and asked her if she would participate in an event that was just three months away. “When she took part and won the top spot we thought we should encourage her further and she underwent professional training. She has won three GOLD medals representing the state and six at the district level since then,” said Senthil Kumar, her father who runs a logistics company.

Her masters Sensei Shanmugam and Muthuraj enrolled her for quite a few national and international events and she has always won medals in all events. “They are very sincere and dedicated which helped me pick up the art quickly,” said Kunthavi.

“Earlier I was very scared and used to cry over trivial matters. Karate has made me stronger and instilled a sense of discipline in me,” she said. Her dream is to win the GOLD at the World Karate Federation event.

“Everytime I go for these international tournaments, I learn a lot. Winners have better speed and stamina which I will work on to win the GOLD,” she said. Academically quite bright, Kunthavi wants to be a space scientist when she grows up. “I am fascinated with science and I do not miss school for anything apart from some tournaments.”

“Even though on some days we want her to miss school thinking she must be too tired, we end her dropping her to school as she gets very upset,” said S Radha, her mother.

Apart from Karate, Kunthavi has also represented the district in horse riding, swimming and aero modeling. She also learns magic, drawing and Bharatnatyam. “I love sports and I want to learn shooting and archery as well,” she said. “My role models are my Karate masters and IPS officer C Sylendra Babu.

Every time she achieves something, she asks her father for a gift. If she wins GOLD at the WKF tournament, she has requested her father to take her to the Shaolin temple in China. “I want to go to that temple and taste the water there as it is the land of Karate,” she said.

A clearly multi-talented girl, her parents said that they were proud of her and always supported her interests. “We never differentiate between her and our son and try to provide as many opportunities as possible for her to shine in life,” said Senthil Kumar.

source://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by Komal Gautham, TNN / April 12th, 2015