City lad to represent country in international kickboxing event

Coimbatore: A college student from the city has bagged silver in a national-level kickboxing tournament held recently. He has been selected to represent the country in the international tournament to be held in Italy in June.
M Ranjith Kumar, a second year BCom student of NGP Arts and Science College in the city, won silver in the Wako India National Kickboxing Federation Cup held in Pune recently.“Players who win the first two places would be selected to participate in the international tournament to be held in Italy coming June. I have been qualified for that,” Ranjith Kumar said.
Ranjith had been practicing kickboxing from 2017. In these two years, he has won two medals nationally. In the national tournament held in Kolkata last year, he won bronze. This year, he won silver in the ‘minus 57’ category. Ranjith won four gold medals in Kung Fu and kickboxing in four state-level meets last year.
The interest in the martial art came when his father put him in a kickboxing summer camp and he has not turned back since, Ranjith Kumar said. He said he has been practicing for two hours in the morning every day.
However, Ranjith Kumar said his dream of participating in an international tournament might not come true even after getting selected, as he was not in a favourable financial situation. “I cannot travel to Italy to participate in the international tournament as I don’t have the wherewithal for it. I have been looking for sponsors and people who would be willing to support me financially,” he said.