Tea stall owner's son dreams of Karate nationals

After emerging as a winner in the recently concluded Gujarat State Karate Championship 2017, Siddharth Bhalgare, son of a tea stall owner in Vadodara now eyes the national title.

The teenager was merely four years old when he first started training.

Siddharth is currently training hard to qualify for the 2020 Olympics.

Throwing light on Bhalgare's future, his coach said that he will be playing his first national soon.

"Siddharth is a very bright student he practices regularly and will be playing his first national soon. However, his selection for the Olympics will depend on his performance in the nationals and would require a lot more of practice," Siddharth's coach Jesal Patel told ANI.

Commenting on the upcoming nationals, the teenager said he is excited and is focusing on technical aspects of the game.

"I am excited about playing the nationals. Both me and my coach are focusing on technical aspects of training in order to prepare for the nationals," he added.

In order to afford his son's education, Bhalgare's father also used to work as a rickshaw puller along-with operating his tea stall.

Siddharth himself worked part-time to provide for the expenses incurred for his training and education.