When 13-year-old Sonia Mehta won a gold medal at the Oceania Karate Championship 2010 in the Tahitian Capital of Papeete recently, no one was surprised.
For, winning gold had become a habit for the girl who had stepped into her teens just two days before the big event.
Chosen to fight in the Female Heavyweight Category (Kumite) for 12-13 year olds, she went on to the finals, pitched against someone of her ilk from Australia.
The result was of course a foregone conclusion.
Her parents Dharmendra and Anita perhaps knew her propensity to win gold when they christened her Sonia.
“I was overwhelmed to see my daughter receiving the medal as the New Zealand National Anthem was played in front of hundreds of people, Ms Mehta said.
“She has done all of us proud.”
Sonia began her career in Karate when she was nine years old and two years later became a Black Belt.
Her achievements include a gold medal at her first competition in Whangarei, three gold medals at the Sugihara Cup in Auckland and many others.
Ms Mehta said her daughter joined karate classes in 2006 to learn self-defense but her passion for the art has taken her to great heights.
Leonard Kong, Johnny Ling and teachers at the Shotolean Karate Association of New Zealand discovered and encouraged her talent to grow,
“Sonia is always excited about competitions but hates preparing for them. Her favourite move is Chudan Gyaku Zuki (a powerful punch on the stomach).
“Her other interests are reading, writing, and physical education. She evinces great interest in Science,” Ms Mehta said.
