Many Indian parents keep their children, and especially their daughters, away from sport, even where coaches and facilities exist. The barrier is often not outside but in the parent’s own ideas: poor returns, uncertainty, and fixed notions of what a girl’s life must be. Blaming our own parents does not help either; our life is now our responsibility. Parenting is a decision of the greatest responsibility, and it begins with self-love. Can we love a child if we cannot love ourselves?
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Arya Chaudhary, whose parents the coach speaks of here, won bronze for India at the 2025 IMMAF World Championships in Tbilisi, the only Indian medallist there, and is a four-time national MMA champion.
Coach: I would especially like to say something for Arya’s parents. She was four years old, and she has a brother. He also used to train in martial arts. So they would bring both of them on a scooter. They stopped only two or three years ago. So for 10, 12 years, bringing the children six, eight kilometres every day, sitting with the children for three hours at a time. If other parents also show that dedication, we can hope. Because I feel that only expecting it from the government is not enough, because travelling worldwide I have seen places where athletes don’t even have shoes, don’t have proper clothes, don’t have a kit, and they are representing at the Olympics and winning for their country. So often in India we see that there is a great lack of facilities, but in reality it is not that much. If one works hard, if a select few are winning gold medals, the others can win too. So that, I feel, is a point.
Acharya Prashant:
