Siya Sukhtankar started her Taekwondo lessons at the age of seven, won her first tournament medal within a year, and has now embarked on a winning spree
JAY JOSHI
Our little state of Goa has no dearth of natural beauty as well as talented people who bring laurels to the state in various fields. Goa has been well known for being the land of artists, singers, musicians, actors and directors, but it is also a land of rising sportspersons. While Goans such as Anura Prabhu Desai and Anurag Mhamal have brought glory to the state in badminton and chess, Siya Sukhtankar, a 12-year-old young sportsperson from Porvorim, is making all efforts to do the same in Taekwondo.
Born in 2007, Siya began training in Taekwondo at the age of seven in 2014, and won her first gold medal for Goa at the zonal championship held in in 2015 at the age of 8 against Haryana. “My father wanted to teach me martial arts so I could defend myself, and I went for Taekwondo because it was pretty different.” says Siya, explaining how she took up the sport. At the age of 9, she joined Star taekwondo academy - Porvorim, and began training under coach Prakash Jaigadi, who encouraged her to train harder and participate in various tournaments.
Now, Siya is a seasoned fighter who juggles a three to four hour training schedule and school. “My school ends at three, and class starts at five, so I have enough time to rest. I don’t go for extra tuition classes” informs the athlete. In addition to her rigorous training, she also follows a strict diet to keep herself fit. “I have two eggs, everyday, cheese, curd, and high-protein foods.” says Siya, adding that she completely avoids junk foods and chips. Her father Ashutosh Sukhtankar further informs that she has never tasted any aerated drinks.”Yeah, I have absolutely no idea of what these things are like” laughs Siya.
At the beginning of her journey as a serious Taekwondo player, Siya initially lost a couple of tournaments. But after urging and motivation from her coach, she picked herself up, and by 2018, had embarked on a winning streak. In 2019, she is set to participate in the zonal tournament in Mysore, and Nationals in Goa, followed by a mixed martial arts tournament in Nepal. But even as the young martial arts expert dominates the national and international tournaments, she counts them as steps towards her ultimate goal.
“My goal is to win a gold for India in Olympics.” says Siya decisively as she concludes.
Achievements
2015
n Won her first gold medal for Goa at the zonal championships at the age of 8
2018
n Secured the first place by knock-out at all the taekwondo tournaments organized by the Sports Authority of Goa at Taluka, District and Goa State level
n Won Gold medal for Goa at the south and west zonal ITF taekwondo championship at Kozhikode - Kerala
n Won Gold medal for Goa at the National ITF taekwondo championship at New Delhi
n Represented India and Won Gold medal for India at the South Asian ITF taekwondo championship at Nepal
A word from the coach
Siya has been one of my most talented students. Aggressive playing style and stamina are her major strengths. We used to train for three hours for the state-level championships, but later took it to the next level with a five-hour routine as we began preparing for South Asian championships, where she struck gold. Now, her regular training session comprises of a four-hour practice. She has now been selected to go to Malaysia for an international tournament set to be held in March.
—Prakash Jaigadi, Head coach, Star Taekwondo Academy, Porvorim
