KOCHI: Ever since she was five, Thiruvananthapuram native Avanee Sunil has been learning the ropes of martial arts under Sambath V, chief coach of the Attingal karate team. Eleven years down, karate has become more than an extra-curricular activity for her. Having won two bronze medals at national-level karate championships held in 2016 and 2017 and five gold medals in state-level karate championships, Avanee is now eyeing gold in the National Penchak Silat Championship to be held in Jammu and Kashmir in April.
A Class X student at the Venjaramoodu Government HSS, Avanee is also a black-belt holder. Avanee says, “Though I was never interested in karate and wanted to join dance classes, it was my mother, Aruna C Balan, who inspired me to learn karate for self-defence. Karate master Sambath trained me. My parents’ unending support eventually helped me bag my first gold in the state-level karate championship held in 2014.”
Though the karate club had to be closed owing to the pandemic, Avanee continued her classes online through Zoom and has not missed even a single practice session. Currently, the 15-year-old champion is participating in the district-level karate championship being held online. “I have already completed the initial round to qualify for the district-level. The selection process includes recording the performances live and sending them to the organisers concerned. After qualifying at the district- level, I will be able to participate in the state-level championship which will be held in Thrissur on March 27 and 28,” she says.
Explaining her practice routine, Avanee says, “Since the karate club has now opened, I train every day from 9am to 3pm and 5.30pm to 8pm which includes various techniques to build my strength. I believe every woman should learn self-defence techniques and be confident enough to take care of themselves. Practising martial arts also helps one to stay strong and healthy.”
Besides preparing for the state-level karate championship, she is also training for Penchak Silat, a form of martial arts popular in Indonesia, which includes striking and grappling techniques. “ Unlike Karate, Penchak Silat involves more injury and this martial art includes training people in various techniques to deal with attacks. I have started training in the same,” says Avanee who is probably the first from the city to participate in the National Penchak Silat Championship. Avanee hopes to compete at the Olympics some day.