Vizag lad’s road to glory at World Karate Championship

City’s Karate prodigy, Anmish Varma, struck gold at the recently concluded World Championship in Greece. Teja Kovvali finds out more about his journey to accomplishing the dream.

The road to glory

While Anmish had already made the country proud on numerous occasions before, it was the coveted title of World Champion that eluded him for quite long. Falling agonisingly short of luck in the previous four tournaments, the Vizag lad certainly had his task cut out when the dates for this year’s Championship were announced.

Battling dengue and enduring a few hiccups while finding the sponsors, the 26-year-old was a man on a mission entering Greece.

Participating in the minus 80 kg adult men category, Anmish put up a spirited show in all his fights and eventually, cruised to the grand finale.

On the big day

The stage was set for a special show as Anmish locked horns with his opponent from England in the battle for glory. With no questions raised on his ability to secure the title, it was a last-minute change in strategy that proved to be decisive for Anmish. “While meditating on the night before the fight, I thought of changing my technique from defensive to attacking, as I wanted to go all guns blazing,” he shares.

And it was this change in tactics that reaped the sweetest fruit as Anmish knocked out his opponent in a matter of 30 seconds to realise his long-time dream of being crowned as the World Champion.

The rise to fame

Anmish emerged as the first Indian to bag a gold medal in this category. Making his family and friends immensely proud, the youngster is now busy receiving plaudits from different parts of the country.

He was even congratulated by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Nara Chandrababu Naidu, who assured him of benefits as per the guidelines drawn by the state government.

The Guru factor

A successful Karateka since childhood, Anmish credits his prowess to his coach G Kanaka Rao, who has played a major role in his journey thus far. “I first met him at my school. For many years, I trained dedicatedly under him and it is his guidance that shaped me primarily,” Anmish shares.

Today, Kanaka Rao stands as one of the proudest people behind Anmish’s remarkable achievement. Quick to notice his favourite student’s mercurial rise to fame off-late, he advises Anmish to have his feet grounded and keep persevering as always.

The road ahead

Anmish plans to climb higher pedestals in Karate while catering equal efforts to his other interest, social work. As a founder of Kalpavruksh, an NGO that works for social causes, the martial artist aspires to influence the society in a positive way.

In fact, he even holds an interesting ambition for the coming future. “I want to prove the fact that even commoners can make an impact by joining politics. For the same, I’ll be contesting elections to Parliament from Vizag in 2019,” he signs off.