Tongan taekwondo athlete Hamish Chimanlal wins gold in South Korea

Hamish Chimanlal, a Tongan athlete with Indian and Fijian heritage, has achieved a significant milestone in his taekwondo career by winning a gold medal at the Kimunyong Cup in South Korea. Chimanlal, who studies at the University of Auckland, triumphed in the Senior Male 2 Knife-Hand Breaking division.

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I remember some kids at my school were doing, not the same thing, but something similar, and I was very interested because as a little kid, I saw this thing and I thought, 'that's cool.' It reminded me of the things that you see in all of the kung fu movies, and so I asked my mother, and she connected with the taekwondo organisation that I'm a part of now, and I joined, and it's something that stuck with me ever since.

Inspired by childhood memories of Kung Fu movies, Chimanlal's passion for taekwondo led him to compete internationally for Tonga. His journey began at age seven, and he has since dedicated himself to mastering the martial art. The Kimunyong Cup marked his first international appearance for Tonga and his first competition in breaking, a discipline within taekwondo that showcases skills beyond sparring.

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I competed at the Kimunyong Cup, and I competed in brick breaking there, and there were also a lot of training courses as well that took place. That gold medal was for nice hands breaking, where I competed in the male senior one division, in the ages 19 to 29 category, against a few people in that division. I remember there being a Filipino competitor, South Korean competitor, a South American competitor. There were representatives from 61 countries at the event.

"It was definitely a surreal experience," Chimanlal stated about his gold medal win. He described the competition as intense, with participants from 61 countries. The hand-breaking event involved stacking and breaking multiple bricks, with the highest number of successfully broken bricks determining the winner. Chimanlal's victory in this challenging category has fueled his love for the sport and his desire to excel.

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It was definitely a surreal experience. This is my first time competing in breaking, although I have had experience with breaking, but never in a competition setting. There was a lot going on at at that moment between calming my nerves and preparing myself to compete and being in such a big setting, and from from there to actually successfully completing my break to winning.

Beyond the medal, Chimanlal also completed advanced training courses in Seoul, deepening his understanding of taekwondo. He expressed his satisfaction in representing Tonga on the international stage, stating, "I feel good that I brought a little bit of representation and awareness of Tonga to that side of the world." His success at the Kimunyong Cup is a testament to his dedication and a proud moment for Tonga.

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It was hard to determine what I felt. But at the end of it, when everything settled, I felt good and happy that I've gone all the way there and come home with something instead of come home empty-handed.