Panaji: Maharashtra’s Ramchandra Badak’s parents’ determination to help him pursue his love for martial arts bore fruit on Friday night when the Maharashtra player clinched the gold medal in Pencak Silat Tanding Finals at the ongoing 37th National Games in Goa.
The 22-year-old Mumbai-born was fascinated by martial arts since childhood and his father, who works as a security guard, made sure that the financial challenges never but brakes on his journey.
“Without my parents, this would not have been possible. There were times when they really struggled to purchase the uniform required to play this sport,” said Badak after winning the gold.
Badak tried his hand with various martial art forms before settling on Pencak Silat back in 2012. It did not take long for him to showcase his talent and take part in his first nationals in Kurukshetra, Haryana that year, where he bagged Gold. There was no looking back from there.
“I excelled in Simbalam (a form of traditional martial art in India) and won three gold medals at the School Games Federation of India events. However, once I got to know more about Pencak Silat, I gave up Simbalam and focused on the latter,” he added.
The high point in his career so far arrived at the sixth edition of Asian Pencak Silat Championships in Jammu last year, where he bagged bronze.
“That was a huge motivation for me. In a way, it helped me to prepare for this year’s National Games in Goa,” he remarked.
'Next Target is to Win World Championships Gold'
For Ramachandra the success in Goa is already a past and he wants to focus on the upcoming World Championships scheduled to be held in Singapore in December this year.
“Yes, that is the main aim right now. While I am elated with my success in Goa, there is no time to be complacent but to continue with the hard work,” Ramchandra said.
“So far, I have won medals in all the national events that I took part since 2012. But it will be my maiden appearance in the World Championships, and it is a different ballgame altogether. I am ready to give my absolute best,” he added.
