Coimbatore :

There is a sense of extreme pride beam on their faces when S Manoharan, a lathe workshop proprietor and his wife Geetha Manoharan, watch their daughters Ridhanya and Shamita engage themselves in a mock Karate display. Dressed in traditional white Karate robes, 14-year-old Ridhanya is a Karate black belt holder while her sibling, 11-year-old Shamita is a brown belt. They both mean business when they start making some swift moves at the courtyard of their father’s workshop adjacent to their residence in Sowripalayam here in the city.

Ridhanya, a class 9 student of Alvernia Matriculation Higher Secondary School, has already carved a name for herself in both Kata (movements) and Kumite (fighting) rounds of Karate at district, division, state and national level while her sister Shamita, a class 6 student of the same school, has already won a district-level karate championship and is gearing to go up to the next level of the sport. “I always wanted to nurture my daughters like they are my boys. They also like it that way I guess. I have assured total support for both of them in pursuing their dreams in both academics and co-curricular activities,” says Manoharan.

Ridhanya has been learning Karate since she was eight years old. She has since won many tournaments including the recent All India tournament held in Himachal Pradesh on April 21 and 22. Karate fighters from all across the nation participated in the tournament conducted in affiliation with the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs of the Union government and the Asian Karate Federation. “I feel extremely proud when my daughters come home with their medals. But I also cannot deny the fact that both my and my husband will be at ease when our daughters grow old and go out for higher education and career. We are sure that they will be able to take care of themselves,” says Geetha Manoharan.

Ridhanya also adds that having a solid sports background will help them to get admission in colleges and even a good career based on their sporting merits. Though she regularly practises Karate for more than two hours either in the morning or evening, she has never allowed it to adversely affect her academic performance. “I maintain good grades in school. My teachers and principal Sr Celina are very supportive and constantly encourage and help me both in my studies and sports,” says Ridhanya.

Ridhanya often helps out her sister Shamita in making the right moves while they are free at home after coming from school. Shamita has already won a gold medal in a district-level Karate tournament and is confident that she will give a tough competition for her elder sister in bringing home maximum number of medals. “Both Ridhanya and Shamita are extremely talented and have been training hard, which reflects in their performance,” says A Selva Sankar, coach and Karate trainer.

Apart from Karate, Ridhanya has also come first in district and divisional level boxing tournament. She is being trained in boxing at her school and earlier this year bagged the third spot in state level boxing tournament. “Shamita will also start training for boxing in the coming months,” Selva Sankar adds.

source: http://www.m.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India – Mobile / Home / by Binoy Valsan, TNN / May 05th, 2013