Record 64 Karate Golds For UK Pakistani Teen Myra Nasim

A fifteen-year-old British Pakistani girl has broken all records by bagging 64 gold medals in Karate. She achieved the feat after winning Karate matches across England.

How It Started

Myra Nasim was just five when she was drawn towards the art of Karate. Seeing her older brother train in karate at a local community centre in East London, Myra took interest in the form and asked her father to enrol her for Karate lessons. Soon into the training, her coach spotted unique talent in her and advised her to train more.

She told The News and Geo in an interview: “I went there to watch my brother who was doing Karate for two years and had been selected for England. I went there again and I just played around with a few karate moves and I caught attention of my coach. He asked me to join the club as he could see huge potential in me."

At the age of seven, she grabbed attention at various competitions even though the first year was not proven to be quite a winning year. She went on to change her training methods and added more fitness training. She said: "I made sure I did not make the same mistakes I did before, and I also changed my diet from crisps, chocolates to more healthy eating.”

Myra added, “The coach saw huge potential in me and started sending me to competitions. At the age of seven, I won my first gold medal and since than I have won 64 gold medals in all competitions. At the age of 10, I was the youngest athlete to win three national titles in the same year. In 2017, I represented England at youth level and won gold in my first attempt. In 2018, I won all four international titles, including the most prestigious the English National Championship. I have done 11 TV commercials for some of the biggest names as well as three TV shows and worked as extra in two films."

First Victory

Myra earned her first victory at the age of nine when she won her first competition. “Since then, I have achieved 64 gold medals in all competitions which is a record for any karate athlete in the country. At the age of 12, I was also nominated for the Asian Personability of the year, probably the youngest person to be nominated."

Myra credits her success to her trainer Navin, who runs a training centre in Greenford with his mother.

"At the age of 12, I was also nominated for the Asian Personability of the year, probably the youngest person to be nominated."

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Diet Regime

“My father is very strict with my diet regime. He doesn’t let me eat chocolates and junk food. My trainer pushes me to the extreme and every week, there is a new exercise routine that I am made to follow. I train in the gym, at the centre and in my bedroom. I am training religiously in order to stay fit and in shape. I must say that I am not a huge fan of Pakistani food. I prefer English food although I do eat Pakistani roti with chicken once a week. Fitness is really everything. I work a lot at home and train non-stop. I finish the tasks given by my trainer and for the next session I go for new approaches,” she said.

Eyeing The Next World Championship

Myra is aiming to represent Pakistan at the next world championship in Chile in October 2019. “I have represented my country England, and now, I want to represent Pakistan which is the country of my origin. I will be honoured if I get the opportunity to raise the flag of Pakistan,” she claimed.

“It’s my ambition to represent the country of my origin and showcase to the world that we have talent and we know how to win and make an impact. I want more Pakistani girls to get into sports and make their mark. It’s my wish to see more sporting facilities for young girls in Pakistan. Girls are the future of Pakistan,” Myra signed off.

Feature Image Credit:  Geo.tv

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