Atul Raghav is a taekwondo athlete who represented India and won the bronze medal in G-2 Fujairah Dubai tournament in 2020. He is the youngest taekwondo athlete from Ghaziabad district and rose to fame due to his excellent medal accolades. In this exclusive interview he speaks about his taekwondo journey, his experience at the G2 Fujairah tournament, training regimes and his future goals

Q1)Tell us about your Taekwondo journey and what made you take it up professionally?

I started my journey in 2016 as a professional Taekwondo athlete by playing at school level and then moving ahead at a bigger level by winning medals. Martial arts was my interest since childhood and I started enjoying the process of learning this art.

Q 2) How was your experience representing India in the G2 Fujairah Dubai 2020?

Representing India at any platform internationally is always a proud moment for each one us. My experience was much more than I could describe. The level of exposure, the level playing field I got there is immensely unremarkable. I got to learn so many things, whether it’s training or the mindset of international athletes. I was new to the PSS system, I did not know the level of the G2 championships at my early age. I came to know when I reached there that 1500 top athletes and Olympians were competing with each other.

Q 3) What are some of the challenges that you faced in life and how did you overcome them?

The only challenge I faced as an athlete/ referee/ sports mentor is the federation dispute and government support. The only thing which is lacking taekwondo behind any other sport is the federation disputes and no support from the government.

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Q 4) Do you have any Taekwondo idols that you have been inspired by? If yes, how did they inspire you?

I do not have any idol in my life but the person whose fight I used to watch and imitate is Ahmad Abu Ghosh.

Q 5) How do you normally prepare yourself before the tournament? Does mental strength play a part in Taekwondo?

I generally followed a simple schedule before any of my championships. *DIET- I do not follow my diet pattern 365 days because I believe, one should listen to their inner conscience, eat what your body demands or craves for. Nobody else may work for you but at least your body and intelligence must work for you and in order to keep them working effectively, one should listen to their body. I was following the same principle but at the same time I ensured that I’ll practise and exercise daily to maintain my body weight for the next 365 days. But at least 3 weeks before the tournament, I maintain a strict diet to get proper nutrition and value I need.

* Body Conditioning- A combination of strength and muscle endurance training, along with cardio, will keep you in fighting shape. All of these aspects of training work towards getting your stamina and power competition ready. To prevent injury and improve your range of movement, flexibility training should never be ignored and be added to every competition training programme.

* Training- Both drills and sparring are a fundamental part of training. Sparring practise is must to get an idea and experiment new techniques.

* Rest – When I was at my peak performance time frame, I used to strain a lot on my body before any competition due to the energy drive and the vision I had and it costed me heavily. You’ve made the time and effort to condition your body with training and diet. All the hard work to prepare yourself is done. Now is my opportunity to shine and deliver my best performance. To get the most out of my preparation, my body needs rest. The last thing you want before a competition is to be burnt out or injured. And yes, mental strength plays a very significant role in the life of a martial artist. Winning or losing is not in our hands but adopting a positive attitude and moving forward will help you grow as a martial artist, no matter the result and always strive for a medal, the hunger should be there within you.

Q 6) What are your future goals and how do you plan to achieve them?

I'm a very ambitious person. I believe, life is very uncertain and unpredictable about the future but the only goal at present I have is to change the existing situation of taekwondo and promote it through my image. For me, anyone who is wearing a blue jersey and plays for India is the same regardless of any sport. I want to break some of the myths that society have for this sport and stop the discrimination any athlete faces.