Mark Brian Misquitta, 12, has been impressing everyone with his karate skills
It's not often that a child of Goan origin who excels in studies also goes on to represent Australia in sport, but then, Mark Brian Mario Misquitta is no ordinary teenager.
Not only has Mark represented Australia in karate at the tender age of 12 years, he also competes in maths at the national level, is gaining proficiency in piano and is an avid reader.
Mark has links to both sides of Goa, with his father, Ashley Misquitta, hailing from Aldona and mother, Natasha Misquitta nee Andrade, tracing her roots to Velim.
Mark was introduced to karate at the tender age of six and attained his black belt barely five years later. He excelled in competitions (Kumite, fighting) over the last few years and ranked fourth in Victoria last year.
He was selected to represent Victoria and at the Nationals in Melbourne last year, Mark won silver and was ranked number two in Australia.
Early this year, Mark also won silver at the Victorian State Championship.
Recognising his outstanding achievements Mark was invited to train with the Australian squad this year.
At the National camp in Sydney, Mark demonstrated a high level of physical and mental aptitude along with an explosive skills.
This impressed all national coaches and he was selected to represent Australia at the tender age of twelve.
Mark's first international competition representing Australia was in New Caledonia early July for the Pacific Cup."Normally at the elite level, competitions have age and weight categories. However this competition had an open weight division and I was expected to fight some giants in the sport. My division had one of the largest group of competitors," explains Mark.
Mark not only did himself, his family, his club, his country and Goa proud to compete at the highest level, he was placed fourth in his first international competition, which saw a lot of injuries due to the open weight division.
The Australian Team then conducted a three-day camp in New Caledonia prior to the Pacific Cup. Mark also had the opportunity to train with world champions from France, Japan, Australia and Netherlands, who were flown in to train the Australian Team.
Besides inspiring Mark to train with the greats, it has given him valuable experience as he continues on the international karate circuit. Incidentally, karate is only one of Mark's varied success stories.
Mark attends a private school in Melbourne, where he was selected to represent the school at the Australian Mathematics competition. Only the top six were selected from the 252 students in his year level. Moreover, he regularly achieves "A" scores in his studies.
"I love to relax by playing piano and I have also completed grade two in piano. On the odd occasion when I have some free time, I love swimming in the pool, catching up with friends, playing video games and reading," says Mark.
Mark's family, relatives and friends are not only proud of his achievements, courage and persistence, but also admire him for his humility.
"His own Karate club class mates didn't even know he was representing Australia until the club instructors announced it," said his sister, Alison.
