CHENNAI: A fighter, a kickboxer, a fitness junkie and a civil engineering graduate from Chennai has brought laurels to the State by becoming the first kickboxer from Tamil Nadu to bag a silver medal at the World Cup Diamond, WAKO World Kickboxing Championship event held at Anapa, Russia last month. We caught Iqbal Mohammed Irfan for a chat while he was training.
The 22-year-old champion says that movies were his inspiration to step into combat sports. “Like most people, I was attracted to the sport through movies and I used to watch a lot of fight videos and off course Mohammed Ali was a big role model,” he smiles. Irfan joined a Karate class when he was seven and gradually became involved in other martial arts including Kung Fu.
“I was passionate about combat sports and fitness. I was introduced to kickboxing by my then Kung Fu coach, who took me to meet Suresh in 2013,” he says pointing to Suresh Babu, general secretary, TN State amateur kickboxing association.
“Unlike a lot of people who come with the interest but backed out after a few sessions of practice, Irfan was sincere, dedicated and wanted to achieve in the sport. We could confidently give him the toughest circuits in training and I knew he wouldn’t scare easy. This win is definitely a boost for him…he has a long way to go,” beams Suresh.
Steadily growing as a fighter from the district to state level tournaments, the entry into the world championship came after Irfan bagged a gold medal at the National Kickboxing Championship in Vizag. “It was a
knock out event and I was directly selected for the World Championship!” recalls Irfan who won in the 74 kg weight, senior category.
But winning a silver medal at the world championship was not easy. “My parents wanted and still want me to go for a job and have a safe career. They don’t see a future in this sport. Also, kickboxing doesn’t have recognition in our state unlike other states…this makes it more difficult. It’s a struggle to get sponsorships and travel to other countries. I am grateful to my sponsors,” he smiles at John Jeba Singh, an actor who sponsored Irfan.
John heard about Irfan through Suresh, who was also his coach. “He told me about one of his students winning a gold medal at the national level. I enquired about his chances of going for the world championship, and coach rued the fact that lack of funds is a major deterrent. That’s when my friend Vasanth and I decided to sponsor him,” narrates John.
So, what has he brought back from Anapa? “Technique and confidence! The fighters there are so different – from physique to techniques I had a totally different experience,” he grins, and pointed out to the support system international fighters have from their countries. “I cannot stop gushing over the confidence those fighters have! Even if they get hit, they don’t think about it…for them the goal is to win. Some of us lose our confidence quickly due to lack of support and due to uncertainty of our future,” he sighs.
Becoming a role model for budding fighters from the State, Irfan says that his ambition is to become a top fighter in the sport. “I am aiming for great things and I hope my next tournament is sponsored by the government. Taking part in a competition with government affiliation is a proud moment,” explains the engineering graduate from Vel Tech College, Avadi.
Irfan is training for the 5th Asian Indoor games at Ashgabat, Turkmenistan in 2017. “We will have team selections in December and the best fighters from India will be coming. I am looking forward to it. I want to make Tamil Nadu and India proud,” he adds.