When girls of her age played with dolls, Jyoti Kumari chose a career in Wushu, which not many dream of at the age of four and half years! Today, she is 16 years old and the pride of our nation.
On August 8, Jyoti won the first individual medal for India in any international championship — a Bronze in the in Taolu event of Wushu at the 7th Asian Junior Championship in Manila, Philippines. It was only the second day of the event.
Born on January 9, 1997, this intermediate student from DAV-Khalari bagged 14th rank at the Third Junior World Wushu Championship in Singapore in 2011, followed by the Fourth Junior World Wushu Championship in Macau (China) in 2012.
She also participated in the Sixth Asian Junior Wushu Championship in Shanghai in 2011 and has won several golds and silvers in national championships since 2007.
Taolu involves martial art patterns and manoeuvres, for which competitors are judged and given points according to specific rules. The forms comprise basic movements (stances, kicks, punches, balances, jumps, sweeps and throws) based on aggregate categories of traditional Chinese martial art styles and can be changed for competitions to highlight one’s strengths.