Manjit Thakur / New Delhi

Her soft doll-like looks are deceptive, for Tajamul Islam is a fierce kickboxer in the ring with a gold medal she won in World Kickbox championship in Italy at the age of 8 in her kitty and eyes sparkling with the determination of winning many more accolades.

The 12-year old Tajamul from Tarkpore village in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district is a quintessential Kashmiri girl child –pretty looking and adorably cute. However, when she speaks, one comes across the steel in her resolve.

Tajamul speaks as fast as her fists move against an opponent in the ring. She has a lot to say, for her experience at this tender age surpasses those of her seniors.

As a small child, Tajamul loved to dance. She says when she saw a kickboxing match on the television at home she had never even been to the sports stadium before. “While watching that match, it occurred to me that girls in Kashmir are often told not to do this and that. They don't even dream of going ahead, for they are expected to sweep, cook and only visit their neighbours and relatives for social interactions – that’s all.”

She suddenly wanted to fly against these norms and the only way she could do so was to learn kickboxing. She has no idea that sports can become a career choice for her. She thought it would be good for self-defence.

She says, "I thought it was best for self-defence. If someone says something offensive or wrong, I can punch into his face. "

She first spoke about her thoughts to her mother, who thought she was too young to think for herself. However the idea of kickboxing had settled in Tajamul's mind and she faced a real challenge- to persuade Papa.

Tajamul feel her father is very strict, and, she was right since he had refused to give her permission at the first instance. He argued that Tajamul was too young for such daredevil games. He was concerned that she would get injured in the game.

"My dad didn't pay attention to my dream," she says. The tussle between the young child and her father went on for several weeks. Meanwhile, Tajamul along with her elder brother and sister not only visited the stadium in Bandipore but also met the coach.

She told Awaz-the voice with absolute child-like innocence, "You know, these stadiums are very big." She told her mother, "Don't you think your daughter can bring glory to the family's name?"

The mother agreed but while signing the form for coaching, her ‘strict’ father laid down a condition, "If you can bring a gold medal at the district level, then you will be allowed to continue coaching."

Tajamul says, "There was a pressure on me. I know no gold medal would close my way forward.”

Tajamul started coaching with Faisal Dar. In the beginning, Tajamul thought it was very tough. She says, "In the beginning, I was very scared. Then my kick was not as accurate as of that of other players. My punch was not so powerful either. I asked myself whether I would be able to bring gold. I was a little upset by the pressure."

Her coach Faisal Dar noticed her nervousness and asked Tajamul to stay cool. Dar contacted her father and discussed it with him. Tajamul’s father said he wanted to see her daughter do well and he knows she works under pressure.

At the district-level competition, Tajamul was determined to bag the gold. She says, "I just broke into it.”  She returned home with gold. “Back then, I didn't have friends, so I celebrated with my brother and sister,” she says.

That day ‘Papa patted me on my back and said Yeh hui na baat!" (That’s how it should happen).” She says.

The same year (2015) Tajamul won gold in the State-level championship in the sub-junior category in Jammu.

There was no stopping for Tajamul: she bagged gold in the National Kick Boxing Championship held in Delhi in 2015. The next year, she was has turned eight when she travelled to Italy to compete in the World Kick Boxing Championships and returned with gold, bringing glory to India.

Tajamul has her eyes fixed on many more medals, yet she says it’s important for the girls to learn skills of self-defence. She says, "Every parent is very worried about their daughters. In this case, every girl learns self-defence the anxiety of parents will decrease. Everyone should have the strength and skill to shut up an eve teaser.”

For this Tajamul says girls in India must first get out of their homes, no matter what society says. She says, "When I used to go to play, my parents also had to listen to a lot. Everyone used to say, See, girls have gone to play kickboxing. Everybody used to think my parents are crazy, but now my achievements have silenced them.”

Tajamul dreams of winning gold for India in the Olympics.

She also has another dream: to be a doctor. Wearing her trademark dimpled smile she says,” I want to be a doctor so that I can tell people that a girl who can break a bone can also join it."

She quickly adds, Doctor later, Gold first.