Meet Anmish Varma, the lad from Visakhapatnam who’s making India proud with his prowess in Karate

Anmish Varma, the lad from Visakhapatnam, is India’s beaming light in the field of karate. Teja Kovvali interacts with him.

Having honed his art over fifteen years, 24-year-old Anmish has brought many laurels to the country at various international competitions. His recent heroics at the World Championship event in Ireland have fuelled his medal tally to a total of 67 medals that include 59 Gold, 3 Silver, and 5 Bronze.

INITIAL STEPS IN KARATE

Anmish comes from a family that has an inherent love for martial arts. In fact, his father and uncle were adept at sword-fighting and staff-fighting. So, it was but natural, that Anmish got interested in martial arts right since his childhood. As an intense kid, he took great pleasure in watching action sequences in movies. Incidentally, it was Pawan Kalyan’s movie, ‘Thammudu’ that had a great influence on him and made him aspire to achieve great things in life.

Enthusiastic to learn Karate, Anmish did not find a perfect platform till he was introduced to G Kanaka Rao, a coach at the school, who would transform his life. The boy’s zeal to excel at the art made his coach cater greater efforts towards him. Anmish trained vigorously under Kanaka Rao and started winning one competition after another. In fact, his prowess made him play directly at the national level without any representations at the district and the state levels. He also became proficient in the arts of kick-boxing and taekwondo.

WHAT NEXT?

Anmish’s immediate goal is to emerge as the World Champion and thereby satisfy his father’s dream. If karate does become a reality at the 2020 Olympics, Anmish even yearns to bag a gold medal for the country. He hopes that the government will provide sufficient support to help him materialize these ambitions.

MESSAGE TO EVERYONE

Anmish is a strong believer that one can revel only at a place where one’s interest lies. He says that it is important to encourage an aspiring sportsperson and provide proper awareness regarding the chances he/she holds at that particular sport. He also mentions that it is imperative to have physical education at all schools and that learning any form of martial-art is a necessity for girls. This not only boosts their confidence but also comes in handy in any threatening situation. According to him, children should be made physically fit right from a young age so that they can face tougher challenges.

AN ADDITIONAL FACT

The champ idolises Bruce Lee not only for the latter’s masterly skills but also for his philosophical values. Inspired by him, Anmish started an NGO called Kalpavruksh in 2014. Be it abolishing child labour or cleaning statues at the beach road, the organisation works for the betterment of the society in whatever way possible.