You could be gifted and could be in great shape, but if your mentality runs contrary to that, you’ll never realize that physical potential. The important phase is to become conscious of your own thought process and believe in your passionate path.

Sharmendran Raghonathan, karate champ and currently famous for his Malaysian Tamil series Veera shares his amazing sports journey that would definitely inspire many youths out there.

The karate exponent recently received the Bintang Kecemerlangan Sukan Selangor (BKS) award from the Selangor Ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah. This prestigious honour was awarded to Sharmendran for his achievement in receiving the gold medal in the 2022 SEA Games.

The Royal award took place on 11 December 2022 in conjunction with the King’s 77th birthday.

Bringing it to social media to share his excitement and proud moment, Sharmendran posted a picture of him and his mum with the award in the palace.

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A post shared by Sharmendran Raghonathan (@sharmendran_)
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“It’s a great honour to receive this royal award and truly a remarkable one as it’s been my dream since young to make my parents proud. I never had a chance to wear that mortarboard for my mum as I did not further my studies after form 5. But today I am grateful that karate has brought me here to receive this prestigious award with my mum to witness and fulfilling her wishes.

My mum, Samborman is my biggest inspiration

Sometimes, you might not get the chance to full fill your parent’s dream during your younger days but that doesn’t mean you should stop”, said Sharmendran during an interview with Varnam Malaysia.

Sharmendran’s Karate Championship Journey

2013 SEA Games Myanmar – Silver medals in the men’s Kumite below 67 kg and team event
2014 Slovenia Karate 1 World Cup – Gold Medal
2017 Kazakhstan Asian Karate Championship – Bronze Medal
2017 SEA Games Kuala Lumpur- Gold medal in the below men’s Kumite 75kg category and bronze in the team event.
2019 SEA Games Manilla- Gold medal in the men’s 75kg Kumite category
2022 Sea Games Hanoi- Gold medal in the men’s below 75kg Kumite category

Sharing his karate interest, Sharmendran said karate is his passion and something he loved since young. He was not really the bright kid in school and decided to pursue his career in sports instead.

“The journey was not as easy as many can think. It involves a lot of commitment and constancy. I had unpleasant and dark times too. When I was 19, the age when normal teens have the freedom to utilize before getting trapped into adulthood, I was occupied with training and karate sessions. I had to sacrifice my social life to chase that passion of mine”.

The 30-year-old full time athlete also shared another success of him being featured on screen.

Sharmendran is one of the main cast in the recent first local Tamil sports series, Veera. He plays the athlete role as a pugilist.“ I had never pictured myself in acting, this is totally out of my comfort zone. But I broke that bubble and I truly enjoyed the experience. I’m beyond overwhelmed and grateful for such an opportunity”, he added.

One can touch the stars even in the sports field. Trusting your passions and the amount of effort to reach those goals is what does matter. The karate enthusiast and actor also shared that many parents don’t see the future in sports and prohibit their kids from chasing their sports dream. “Allow your kids to choose the paths that bring them joy. Instead of forcing them to stop their passionate goals teach them the importance of pushing through hard times to reach those goals”, said Sharmendran.

Have a passion for your dreams, listen to your intuition, and pursue a path that will bring you joy- Sharmendran Raghonathan

Thank you for the amazing karate-kid story of yours Sharmendran Raghonathan. You have indeed spoken and been the voice for most youths that are unsure about their sports dream. Keep inspiring sport and good luck with your upcoming adventures!