Representing the country and brightening the name of the nation is a dream that every conscious and skilled citizen of any country dreams of, but this honor is the destiny of some.
The foothills of Pakistan have never been devoid of such children, who have not made the name of Pakistan bright in their respective fields. MM News talked to two such star young girls Ayesha Khan and Maha Kamran who represented the country by participating in the Asian Championship Taekwondo competitions and won honors for the country.
Maha Kamran’s father Kamran Qamar Qureshi is the president of Sindh Taekwondo Association and also an international referee. Kamran Qamar Qureshi and Ayesha Khan’s coach also participated in the conversation with MM News. First of all we wanted to know from Kamran Qamar Qureshi how was the Asian Championship and where was it held and how many teams participated in it?
Kamran Qamar Qureshi: This is actually the G2 ranking event of the Combaxx Asian Open International Taekwondo Championship, it was organized under our federation in Islamabad. Last year happened in the G1 ranking, this time it happened in G2. 23 countries participated in it and the event was held at both junior and senior ranks. In this event, my daughter Maha and her friend Ayesha Khan won the bronze medal in the junior taekwondo rank. It was a big thing for these girls to participate in this global event, but they also managed to win bronze medals with excellent performance, which is certainly a matter of pride for us.
MM News: How you felt about such a big success in this Asian Championship event and how much preparation was behind it?
Maha Kamran: I play in Bahria Club and of course to participate in any international competition one has to train and prepare a lot more than usual, I also prepared hard and Alhamdulillah managed to get a medal. After getting the medal, it was this feeling that I learned from the mistakes due to which I could not get the gold medal and only got the bronze medal.
MM News: Maha, tell me how long you have been doing Taekwondo and how did you prepare for the Asian Championships?
Maha Kamran: I have been involved in Taekwondo for seven to eight years. At first, she did not play with much passion, but gradually her passion increased. For the championship, I trained for about three to four hours every day. Apart from this, one has to be careful in eating and drinking, which I went through. Then the focus was on getting a medal, so extra training and practice had to be done out of the norm.
MM News: Maha, you are still under 17, tell me, is it easy to carry Taekwondo with education, or is it just a hobby?
Maha Kamran: Yes, it is a matter of hobby that when you have a hobby, then you have to plan to take both education and sports together. I also have full support from my school in this regard, during the preparation for the championship, when the exams came, the school allowed me to prepare for the competition. Then when I won, I was greatly encouraged and welcomed.
MM News: Your father is also your coach, tell us how much support you got from him?
Maha Kamran: I am in this position today, so it is obviously the result of my father’s support, it was his dream that his daughter plays and make a place, so he guided me step by step, provided support, and encouraged to move forward.
MM News: Tell us that your daughter is still studying, yet she participated in the competition and won a medal, tell us how children can combine sports with education?
Kamran Qamar Qureshi: Parents have to be motivated to arrange an adequate time for children both in education and sports, then when such events come, we know several months in advance, then we would have to tell the parents of the children. The event will come after such a long time, you should prepare your child accordingly, but some parents are supportive and some are not. Those who do, Masha Allah, their children will brighten the name of the country like Maha and Aisha.
MM News: Ayesha Khan, tell me what was your feeling when you won the bronze medal and how did you prepare for it?
Ayesha Khan: The feeling was that she did not achieve all the hard work she had done, but she won, this is also a matter of happiness. It was also a pleasure to achieve something for our country. As far as preparation is concerned, I started preparing for this event four to five months ago. I have been doing Taekwondo for four years. Sir Kamran gave full support for this event. Told us to work so hard that tomorrow when you get something, you will feel like you have done what you want.
MM News: Ayesha Khan, tell me what was your feeling when you won the bronze medal and how did you prepare for it?
Ayesha Khan: The feeling was that she did not achieve all the hard work she had done, but she won, this is also a matter of happiness. It was also a pleasure to achieve something for our country. As far as preparation is concerned, I started preparing for this event four to five months ago. I have been doing Taekwondo for four years. For this event, Sir Kamran did a great job.
MM News: Ayesha, tell us what you think were the mistakes that made you unable to take the gold and will not repeat these mistakes in the future?
Ayesha Khan: I made a few mistakes, one is that I didn’t pay much attention to my diet plan. Then she got a little nervous seeing the crowd during the event, which caused some confusion during the competition.
MM News: Which country team did you feel better about during the fight?
Ayesha Khan: Watching the Egyptian team fight and play, I feel that their practice, and training is much better than ours and they come into the competition with a clearer mindset than us.
MM News: How did you come to Taekwondo, who inspired you?
Ayesha Khan: I started from school, my mother brought me like this even at school age. She used to say that son, it is good for self-defense, anyway one should have some activity, it is a good activity, in the beginning I found it very difficult and bad, but after being forced by my mother, my interest also increased in it. And now this is my hobby.
MM News: How would you both introduce Taekwondo in short words?
Ayesha Khan, Maha Kamran: Taekwondo is not just a sport or a pastime or a practice but it instills a lot of confidence in the personality, so women especially should learn it.
