Twelve year old, British-Pakistani Iris Iftikhar is eyeing Gold in the upcoming British National Taekwondo Championship that will be held on October 27 and 28.
She has already bagged a silver and two bronze medal, each, in London, Barnsley, and Scotland championships in the (-44) kilogramme category.
“All my success is due to my mother; she has supported me all the way through,” she said while talking to a local news outlet, “and it wouldn’t have been possible without her.”
“For other kids, my message is that work hard and you will achieve your goals. Taekwondo is not only good for physical health but it is good for self-defence and mental health.”
“We should focus on our children’s education as that is the way forward to prosper in this society but sports is where our Asian community is not very supportive to their children. As a parent, if we give this support to our children and, especially girls, they [would not] fear when they go out. I believe that’s the best thing we can do as human beings,” said the young sports star’s mother who has a big hand in her daughter’s success.
“I want to make the British-Pakistani community proud, especially girls. My dream is to represent either England or Pakistan in the Olympics,” concluded Iris.
