A sweeping block to success
BRAAMFONTEIN – Shayur Hansraj brings home two bronze medals after international championships.
Shayur Hansraj won two bronze medals at the South African Union Region 5 Karate Champonships.
The championships were held in Zimbabwe Harare recently. Only the top two ranked athletes per division were invited to the event. He received one bronze medal in the U21, 68kg division and the other for the senior team Kumite.
The Wits student recalled how he started karate when he was in Grade 1 and started competing in Grade 4. “All my friends were doing karate at the time. When I started, I took a real big interest to the sport and my love for the sport hasn’t stopped ever since,” said Hansraj.
He expressed that he is inspired by his doting parents and his sensei, Mike Norman and karate hero, Rafael Aghayev.
Hansraj received his first protea colours about seven years ago when he competed in the Commonwealth Karate Championships. His expressed that his next goal is to be selected for the Olympic Games in 2020.
“The lessons you learn from karate are endless, namely discipline, perseverance and dedication. So karate to me is not just a sport, it is a way of life,” said Hansraj. He stressed that he has had to follow a methodical time management routine that allows him to work towards his accounting degree and a excel in his most loved sport.
“Karate has taught me so many life lessons, my favourite being perseverance. That, to me, is the key to success,” he said. Hansraj urged anyone wanting to go into the sport to never give up. “No matter how many times you fall in the dojo, always get back up.”
Hansraj concludes that he wants to continue competing on an international level for years to come and to have a CA degree as well.
Details: Wits, www.wits.ac.za/askwits or 011 717 1888
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