When life knocks you down, you can choose to get back up - The Karate Kid Master M.P Jagruth, a 16-year-old boy from Karnataka, is the only Indian to have won a gold in the Karate World Championsh
When life knocks you down, you can choose to get back up – The Karate Kid
Master M.P Jagruth, a 16-year-old boy from Karnataka, is the only Indian to have won a gold in the Karate World Championships.
The six-time national champion is also the only Karateka (A Karate practitioner is called a ‘Karateka’) in the world to have won gold and silver in Karate World Championships age-group competitions.
Jagruth started practicing Karate at the age of 6. His father Mr. M.G Prashad, a former national Karateka, is Jagruth’s coach and mentor.
“Father used to take me along for his Karate classes when I was very young. I picked up interest in the sport by watching him train Karatekas,” said Jagruth.
Mr. Prashad runs a Karate training academy in Bangalore and is the coach of India’s national Karate team.
“I remember watching the movie The Karate Kid on TV, and I loved the movie to bits. And since that day, all I wanted to do was to be a Karate champion,” said he.
Jagruth played his first tournament, the Dusshera Karate tournament held in Mysore, aged 8, and won a gold.
“Winning my first tournament was a big confidence booster. After that, I started to take the game seriously. I started to believe that I can achieve bigger and better things in sports if I keep up the momentum,” informed Jagruth.
Jagruth went on to play his first state championship next and clinched a silver medal in the U-10 age category.
Soon followed his first international tournament. He went on to win a silver medal in Singapore in 2014.
“Winning a medal on the global stage against the best players in the world boosted my confidence. All I needed to do was work harder,” said Jagruth with a smile.
Since then, Jagruth has won six gold medals consecutively at the national championships. He qualified for his first Commonwealth Karate Championships in 2015 and won the gold medal (Kata) in the U-10 category.
He then represented India in the Karate World Championships in Croatia in 2016 and won a Bronze medal. To date, Jagruth has won a total of four medals in the World Karate Championships, including a gold medal (Kata), two silver medals (Kumite), and a Bronze medal (Kumite).
“By 2018, I was ranked 5th in the world. Things seemed well until COVID happened. Tournaments got postponed or canceled. It took forever for them to start again, especially in India,” mentioned Jagruth.
There were little to no tournaments happening in India after the lockdown. Most competitions took place in Europe, and travel restrictions and expenses made it difficult for players to travel. Jagruth and his parents had to bear all costs on their own. There was little help from the government or the sports federation.
“As I failed to travel for tournaments, my world ranking started to fall drastically. Knowing that there is not much I could do made me feel very demotivated,” told Jagruth.
When asked how he found motivation during the difficult phase, Jagruth had one thing to say – family.
“My parents kept me motivated. I would not have maintained my focus without them. They led me by example. My mother woke me up at four in the morning so I could join the practice. My father demanded utmost focus and dedication in training,” said Jagruth.
Jagruth’s mother works in the criminal investigation department. Her support has been instrumental in helping the father-son duo shine.
Having a knack for football, Jagruth joined enJogo-Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools (BBFS) online training program during the lockdown and started attending the on-ground sessions later.
“I was always interested in football. I remember watching the FIFA World Cup on TV with my father. We used to stay up late to watch the matches. And I immediately fell in love with the game,” said he.
Like many other things, Jagruth’s fascination for football comes from his father.
“It was difficult for me to adapt to the game at first. I had played an individual sport all my life, and changing to a team sport was never easy. My coaches at enJogo-BBFS, especially coach Amruth, helped me immensely. He was always patient with me. Coach Amruth gave me time to adapt and gel in. Training with him was like training with a friend,” said Jagruth.
Football training helped with Karate as well. Jagruth developed his stamina and agility, which in turn helped him be a better and improved version of himself as a Karateka.
“Football is a fast game. You have to make decisions quickly. It is the same in Karate, where you have to make decisions in a fraction of a second. Football training has helped me develop my cognitive abilities to a large extent,” says Jagruth.
Jagruth is currently a XIth grader in HAL Public School in Bangalore. He has opted science stream and aspires to become a medical professional in the future while continuing to shine in sports.
“My father is a physiotherapist. And I want to be in the medical field in the future too. I try to maintain a good balance between my studies and sports. I think it is important to find the right balance,” concluded Jagruth.
The year 2022 has been promising for him. Jagruth won the gold medal in Karate national championships in U-16 and U-17 categories held at Pune in June.
He will represent India at the Commonwealth Karate Championships this September once again.
In the long run, Jagruth aspires to be a full-fledged Karateka and represent India in the 2024 Olympic games. He is confident in his abilities, and his family helps him stay grounded and motivated.
If Master Jagruth continues to progress at the rate he is doing now, it is only a matter of time that India’s own Karate Kid becomes a world champion Karateka. We at enJogo-Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools are proud of Jagruth’s achievements and want to see him shine at the greatest sporting events.
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