“Human beings are emotional. There is so much that they are unable to cope up with, especially during their adolescence. I was like that, you know, unable to express and understand what was happening to me, my mind, and my body.”
Umesh Rohit, a black belt and international gold medalist in Taekwondo, is a humble man for his stature. “I was always drawn towards Martial Arts,” he explains simply. “I knew it would somehow help me fight my emotions, channelize my energy. So I ran away from my little town to Lucknow and started practicing Tae Kwon Do.” While the decision wasn’t one that his parents could wrap their heads around – “they were very upset” – his brothers were supportive. Yet, it was one he stuck to despite the difficulties. “I remember my class would start at 4.30 PM every day. I had hardly any money to take a bus, so I would run 6 kilometres in the scorching heat to get to training. I worked extremely hard and won many accolades, but then it was time to give back. I came back to my town and started teaching a handful of children, and was the first one to introduce the Korean Martial Art in the little town of Saharanpur. My world has changed ever since.”
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