Indian Karate Star Pranay Sharma on Sunday became the first Indian to win Gold Medal at Karate 1 Series A in Jakarta, Indonesia. Sharma defeated Ukraine's Davyd Yanovskyi in the Men's 67 kg Kumite Final to bag the historic gold medal in the competition.
"Pranay creates history 🔥Pranay Sharma becomes the 1st 🇮🇳 to win 🥇 at Karate 1 Series A, Jakarta 😍Pranay defeated 🇺🇦's Davyd Yanovskyi in the Men's 67 kg Kumite Final to bag the historic 🥇Congratulations Champion,"
Sports Authority of India announced in a tweet.
Sharma's achievement came a few months after he said that his dream was to win gold for India at the Asian Games that would expand the scope of Karate in the country.
"My immediate goal after KIUG is to win a medal for my country at the Asian Games. I think I can win a medal for India and grow the game of karate even more in our country. The Asian Games is a top-level competition and nothing beats a medal there," he said in an interview with ANI News Agency.
The bronze medalist at the USA Open and the winner of the Thailand Open claimed that his parents had supported him along the way and would be happy to see him win gold on TV.
"My father was also a Karate player. He played at the National level and he has always motivated me and pushed me forward. Earlier I was known as his child and now because of my accomplishments, he is known as my father, so that's a big accomplishment for me."
"I am feeling really good that I am in the Final, but I will try my best to win Gold. If I win the Gold then my parents will be the ones happier than me. They have helped me a lot and I am nothing without him. My father will be so happy because he will see me win a Gold on TV," he said.
Sharma also explained how the game helped him to learn self-control. He said, "I was a bit of an aggressive child. I would get into a lot of fights. But, after I started training in Karate, I learned to control myself. because self-control is very important in our sport. Now I don't get angry anymore and I have learned from karate that you have to control yourself."
(Edited by : Anushka Sharma)
