Kickboxer raised by transgender grandparent wins gold medal in Mysore

15-year-old Bibi Fatima, who was raised by a transgender in Mysore, has won a gold medal in the WAKO India Kickboxing Championship. Her transgender grandparent Shabana has invested all her savings which she made by begging for alms into the training of her granddaughter, while she now seeks financial help for her further endeavours.

Mysore: Bibi Fatima, a female kickboxing player raised by her transgender grandparent in Mysore, has bagged a gold medal in WAKO India Kickboxing Championship.

Shabana aka Akram Pasha, who wins her bread and butter by begging for alms, invested all her earnings in training her granddaughter who had a knack for kickboxing. Her granddaughter Fatima is a 9th class student at the Saint Anthony High School in the Mysore city, and is concurrently receiving training from the Mysore District Kickboxing Association.

The 15-year-old is being appreciated for her outstanding performance in the Under-15 category at WAKO India Kickboxing Championship held at Pune in Maharashtra last week. The competition was held between December 27 and 30, in association with the Maharashtra Amateur Sports Kick Association & WAKO India Kickboxing Federation.

Elated at her granddaughter's success, Shabana now wants Fatima to be an International-level Kickboxing Player. "It has become very difficult for me to meet all the expenses, including the cost of Bibi Fatima's education, money for her kickboxing training, and sending her to competitions in different places," she said. She is therefore reaching out to the state and the central government as well as private donors for financial help to support her granddaughter in her career endeavours.