Karnataka tea seller bags Noble World Records Award for tornado kicking

A young tea seller in Karnataka has won the Noble World Records Award in tornado kicking. After his father's health deteriorated during the first wave of Covid, R Shashank ventured to sell tea for sustenance but remained undeterred in following his passion.

Mandya: Covid-19 has ravaged many lives. From losing jobs to loved ones, the pandemic has many sad stories to narrate. However, R. Shashank, a 20-year-old tea seller from Mandya in Karnataka turned tables and went on to win Noble World Records Award in tornado kicking. As the breadwinner of his family, his father became ill during the first wave of Covid, Shashank decided to make both ends meet by selling tea.

Practising karate is what Shashank enjoys most. Trained under the watchful eyes of Dr S. Krishna Murthy of Oshukai Martial Arts Academy Shashank left no stone unturned to reach the spot where he's today. Waking up at 3 am, selling tea till 5 pm and practising tornado kicking for three hours in the evening has been what he has been doing all these years.

His relentless practise and dedication made him the highest kicker in a short time among Indians. Tornado kicking practice comes with many difficulties. One needs to rotate the body at 540 degrees, without stopping. Despite experiencing tiredness, vomiting, and dizziness, Shashank improved from kicking 10 times to 60 times per minute.

The video of Shashank kicking 62 times per minute was sent to Noble World Records, an organization in Uttar Pradesh. On June 21, he was presented the award and medal. The video was also sent to Guinness World Records.

Shashank's parents Rajanna and Varalakshmi are very proud of his achievement. After completing class 10 in Sharada Public School, he went on to pursue a diploma course. In the course of time he had competed three times at the state level and twice at the national level, and won a silver medal in 2019.