Against all odds, 14-year-old Kottayam girl wins state karate gold
Advaitha Santhosh, a visually impaired 14-year-old, has won gold at the Kerala State Karate Championship.
Advaitha Santhosh, a visually impaired 14-year-old, has won gold at the Kerala State Karate Championship.
Advaitha Santhosh, a visually impaired 14-year-old, has won gold at the Kerala State Karate Championship.
Fourteen-year-old Advaitha Santhosh of Kunnel House from Madhuraveli in Kaduthuruthi has turned discipline, courage and sheer grit into a winning formula. Drawing on these qualities, she has fought her way to clinch a gold at the State Karate Championship, an event recognised by both the Kerala Sports Council and the Kerala Olympic Association.
Visually challenged since the age of six months, Advaitha relies entirely on high-power lenses for daily life and cannot see clearly beyond one and a half meters without them. Yet, on the day of the competition, she faced fully sighted opponents without her lenses and delivered a performance brimming with confidence, emerging as the state champion. Representing Kottayam district, Advaitha competed in the KU 51 category (14 years – 54 kg).
A class 9 student at SKV GHSS, Neendoor, she trains in karate at the Kaiho Juku dojo in Valachira, Kaduthuruthi, under Sensei E G Gopakumar. Advaitha is the daughter of Santhosh, a teacher at SKV GHSS Neendoor, and Marina, a communicative English trainer. Her father, visually impaired from birth, overcame his own limitations to achieve success—a legacy that continues to inspire his daughter.
Besides karate, Advaitha has also showcased her talent in blind cricket and para-athletics. She is a member of the Kerala team participating in the National Blind Cricket Tournament, starting January 17 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
Her brother, Abhinand Santhosh, will represent Kottayam district in the Kata Kumite events at the 46th State Sub-Junior Karate Championship, scheduled in Thrissur this February.