Patil has competed in numerous events throughout the Northeast in the past year – and has brought home plenty of hardware to show for it.
Some of her recent achievements include taking home gold and silver medals in both the Rhode Island championship and the Korean Consulate General Cup in Boston. Patil also earned gold medals in Sparring and Poomse in the Boston International Taekwondo Championship.
When Patil was born in Portland back in December of 2006, she was born prematurely, weighing only 1 pound, 5 ounces at the 26th week of gestation.
Sunny Patil felt that martial arts may be a good idea for his daughter when she was a young child.
“When she was born premature, she was very small, we had to be careful with her and she was scared of a lot. (Taekwondo) has helped because it has taught her to protect herself and has given her confidence to get things done. We won’t always be with her as she gets older with college and things, so it teaches her how to protect herself,” said Sunny Patil.
Although Sarah Patil enjoys other hobbies such as ballet and jazz, taekwondo has always been her favorite, and she hopes to one day be an Olympian.
“When she was young we put her in martial arts, we were thinking, ‘let’s see how she does,’ and we put her in taekwondo and she liked it right away and immediately focused on it,” said Sunny Patil. “She likes to do other activities like dancing, but she wants to be an Olympian in taekwondo.”
Sarah Patil has taken steps toward achieving her goal, including working with taekwondo coach Tom Chea.
“She’s been training with coach Tom Chea which has been great, he is very dedicated to teaching to her. Sarah wants to be an Olympian some day, so this helps her do what she’s trying to do. Tom is very dedicated and is great with the kids,” said Sunny Patil.
“I have wanted to be an Olympian since I was 5 years old, that is why I train a lot and am working with my coaches,” said Sarah Patil.
Sarah enjoys learning and participating in the art, with sparring being her favorite activity.
“I like taekwondo because it is protective. It teaches you how to protect yourself,” said Sarah Patil. “I like sparring. You get to fight in front of a lot of people, I like to focus on the movement. Sparring is my favorite.”
Sarah Patil is currently training for her fourth U.S. National Championships this July in Richmond, Virginia. Sunny Patil looks forward to the competition, as well as seeing what the future holds for his daughter.
“What she does is on her, that’s what we always tell her. Whether it’s trying another sport or dancing, it’s on her,” said Sunny Patil. “Right now, her goal is to be an Olympian in taekwondo, so she has been getting great training while she can and is working hard.”
— Sports Staff Writer Alex Sponseller can be reached at [email protected] or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @ JournalTsports.
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