5-year-old Aashman Taneja sets Guinness World Record in Taekwondo

What's the story?

Hyderabad's Aashman Taneja has made the nation proud by setting a Guinness World Record in the sport of Taekwondo. The young prodigy has achieved the record for the most number of full-contact knee strikes in one hour.

The background

Aashman is a young athlete and excels in the sport of Taekwondo. He had also won a Silver medal in the sport at the USA World Open. Now, the talented player will have his name written in the prestigious Guinness Book of World Records. Aashman also holds a Yellow belt in the sport.

The heart of the matter

Aashman was successful in setting the World Record with over 1,200 knee strikes in an hour. He had to keep going at it non-stop to achieve the mark which is a testament to his resilience and stamina at such a young age.

"My son practiced a lot for the world record, he was inspired by his sister and started training earlier. He was the youngest child to achieve the record. My son is now practising for another Guinness world record and we hope that he will achieve it.", Aashman Taneja's father, Ashish Taneja proudly told ANI

The incredible young athlete started practising the sport along with her sister. After a year, Aashman was selected to train for 2 hours with veteran Grand Master M Jayanth Reddy. Jayanth holds 29 Guinness World Records himself and has also won the US Presidential Award 12 times.

Aashman, who is a student of Hyderabad's prestigious Oakridge school, told the ANI, "When my sister got two Guinness world records, I too wanted to secure the Guinness world record. She is my inspiration and so is my teacher."

What's next?

Young athletes such as Aashman continue to surprise and inspire fellow players. Achieving a balance between academics, extracurriculars, and sports right from a young age is something the top schools in the country are aiming for these days. This would help in the overall grooming of the child and Aashman is just one of many examples.