Sai Deepak giving his all to qualify for 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Being a son of an auto-rickshaw driver was never an impediment for 22-year-old B. Sai Deepak, who was the youngest to set two Guinness World Records in taekwondo recently, to give his all to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Deepak’s desire to make it big in the world of sports began when he watched ace shooter Abhinav Bhindra stand on the podium with the gold medal in 2008 Beijing Olympics.

“Since then, I have always been chasing the dream of representing India in Olympics,” the engineering graduate, who is now pursuing MBA, told The Hindu.

Deepak set his first Guinness record in full contact with alternate elbows (142 in 60 seconds) in November 2017 and then another full contact with knee strikes (though he did 205 in three minutes, it was ratified at 175 itself) in December last.

A trainee under renowned taekwondo expert M. Jayanth Reddy from the city, who himself has set many world records, this fitness freak is now gunning for six more world records this year starting in March trying to beat Pakistan’s Irfan Mehmood’s single elbow strikes record of 128 in 60 seconds.

A silver medallist in the nationals, Deepak’s biggest achievement was a gold in the Indo-Nepal International Taekwondo Meet last May.

Ironically, this gifted taekwondo expert couldn’t make it to the U.S. Open Championship for want of financial assistance.

What is the route to Olympics? “It’s a demanding task. You have to win at least two medals in two Grade-II events featuring more than 60 countries and it’s never easy. But thanks to Jayanth Reddy sir, we are training with that specific goal of getting the qualifying mark,” says Deepak, a resident of Krishna Nagar.

“I am determined to achieve another first by making it to the Olympics by working hard despite all odds,” he signs off.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Telangana / by V.V. Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – March 24th, 2018