An international level Taekwondo athlete and World Taekwondo Level 2 coach, Sandeep Chauhan is a national medallist, represented India in President Cup, Australia Open, El Hassan Cup, Asian Open Championship and is the first coach to clear Level 2 in India for Taekwondo. 

In this exclusive interview, Sandeep Chauhan speaks about being introduced to Taekwondo, overcoming challenges, learning life lessons from the sport, experience with Discovery’s India’s Ultimate Warrior and his future goals.

Q 1) Having come from a farmer's family, how were you first introduced to the sport and what made you take it up professionally?

My journey in taekwondo began when I was in school. My story isn’t remarkable nor did I set out with an aim to become an internationally recognized Taekwondo athlete. However, looking back, it now seems like it was all meant to be, especially when you consider the fact that my background, as far as my family is concerned, had nothing to do with taekwondo or any sports for that matter. 

I come from a farmer’s family; my father, Virenderpal Singh, has been farming ever since I can remember and I wasn’t serious about my game when I started out but rather the passion for it evolved over time and there eventually came a point when my interest mingled with the sweet taste of success which kept me in the game.  

I vividly recall that back in school whenever I did well in local championships my school bestowed me with much respect and encouragement and those were certainly proud and elated moments for a schoolboy. With such supportive people around me, I went on to win many medals. After school, I moved to Delhi for advanced training, there I joined Korean taekwondo classes, besides the skill enhancement.

Q 2) What are some of the biggest challenges that you have faced in your journey so far? How did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge I have faced in my journey is that I got 2 ACL surgeries on my right knee, and that happened when I was at the peak of my performance. Those were good times but little did I know that some misery was about to befall during the peak of my performance. I had a serious ligament injury that required surgery which couldn’t be performed on time due to the onslaught of the Covid pandemic. 

Thus, my surgery got delayed for 2 years. Despite my love for the art, the injury made me stay low for two long years. Nevertheless, post-surgery I started preparing again for events as I simply couldn’t stay away from taekwondo. I was as determined as ever thinking that some injury wasn’t enough to suck out my love for taekwondo that by then was already flowing in my veins. During the lockdown I decided to give online training to the athletes who are suffering from mental pressure due to Covid, I decided to give that training for free to the athletes and I trained over 100 athletes during pandemic time and that was the time I found happiness and I forgot about my injury and tried to overcome with the athletes.

The injury was demotivating but my uncle Kuldeep Chauhan stood beside me and supported me mentally and financially. Everything that I am today is because of my uncle. One of the biggest challenges that I faced was in 2016 when my mother passed away. It was a very hard time to overcome that setback and at that time, my aunty Indu Chauhan supported me like a mother and cared for me.

Q 3) What are some of the life lessons that taekwondo has taught you? How do you implement them?

The thing I admire most about taekwondo is the discipline and respect that comes with it; this is a sport where you know how to give mutual respect and I get to play out dream stunts from my childhood, how many get to do that, right? 

Taekwondo gave me the chance to inculcate professionalism and discipline in my life and it teaches me to stay humble, positive, and calm in any situation. The art isn’t just about physical skills, for me, it’s also a lot to do with building a strong mentality and I think that’s the key to how I survived in the sport.

Also read: My goal is to represent India internationally: Tejas “Rexy” Kotian

Q 4) Tell us about your experience with Discovery’s India’s Ultimate Warrior. 

I got a call one day from India’s Ultimate Warrior team saying they wanted me to participate in the show. Before getting into the show I had to go for several rounds of interviews to show my mental and physical skills. It was after I cleared all required rounds that they selected me to participate. This is the first time I participated in any TV show. Fortunately for me, my experience of performing at an international level has made me feel confident that I can take on whatever the show is going to throw my way. 

While shooting there are lots of cameras and crew standing around but having audiences around for me has always been a norm while performing so that comes kind of naturally to me. I also have my mentor and our dojo master Vidyut always there to help me win every task. There was an incident during one of the challenges and I got a serious injury in a determination endurance task and the doctor said it was a ligament tear; in fact, that was on the same leg which was injured 3 yrs ago; not to mention, it was painful. 

Despite the injury, I didn’t stop in the show and was ready for tasks. I showed such determination that they acknowledged my determination with the star warrior award of the second episode. However, concern for my health made them take a step back, and along with Vidyut and my mentor decided that I should go for the surgery for my own good and thus had to leave the show midway.

In the show I got a star warrior award, a holy locket from Vidyut sir which he received from the Dalai Lama; and I also got a Pavitra Mala from my mentor, Shifu Kaniska that he always used to have on his hand. Sure, I didn’t get the winner trophy but I got the respect from the whole of India.  

With the kind of love, respect, and support I’ve received while in the show cherry-topped with the reward from Vidhyut sir and Shifu Kaniska, I think I’ve won just as good as the title of India’s ultimate warrior. I’ve won their heart and I’ve won their love, and I couldn’t feel better.

Q 5) What are your future goals and ambitions? How do you plan to achieve them?

My goal for the future is to enable my athletes to win Olympic medals in Taekwondo and I’m confident enough to say that we’re very close to the goal; we’re training as hard as we can with  8 hours of work daily with our eyes set on the Olympics and we know the result should show in the 2024 Olympics. I would also like to set up the biggest fitness chain in India. I’ve already started with Creed Fitness Club in Bangalore and am planning to reach every other place in the country.