At 9 years old, this Pakistani taekwondo champion has impressive wins under her (black) belt
(Courtesy of Ayesha Ayaz)
“I’m young but I have unshakable courage,” shares Ayesha Ayaz.
Ayesha Ayaz might come from taekwondo royalty — her dad, Mohammad Ayaznayak, is the coach of the Pakistani national team and her mom, Bushra, is a two-time national champion — but at 9 years old, the young athlete is already a star in her own right. After making headlines at competitions around the world and earning gold at the 2020 Fujairah Open Taekwondo Championship, Ayesha is now a household name in Pakistan.
“When we go to the market, people stop us. When we go out in town, people stop us. People want to talk with Ayesha, take her photos, use her photos for things like posters, school textbooks,” shares Mohammad. “Our house is full of medals. We have my medals, Ayesha’s medals, my wife’s medals.”
Ayesha first started taekwondo at the age of 3. “I used to go with my father to his academy and kick at targets,” she remembers. “That’s how I became interested and then eventually became big in the game.” She now travels to competitions around the world with her dad-slash-coach, who (in addition to providing useful training tips) also reminds her not to overdo it on Pepsi and chips while on the road. After becoming a three-time national taekwondo champion in Pakistan, Ayesha first gained international attention in 2019 when she became the youngest competitor to win a bronze medal at the Fujairah Taekwondo Open Championship in Dubai. This year she won a gold medal in taekwondo at the same event.
“I’m young,” Ayesha acknowledges, “But I have unshakable courage. I remember my third-ever match was in England against someone much stronger than me. But I won that match because I work hard before my matches and I gave it my all during the match.”
Ayesha credits her success to a lot of practise and her father. “It’s because I had his support that I was able to represent Pakistan at an international level and make my country proud. Girls everywhere need the same kind of support,” she shares. Mohammad believes the sky's the limit for his daughter. “Having seen her compete, I know that she will take over the Olympics and world,” he shares.
(Courtesy of Ayesha Ayaz)
In Ayesha’s hometown of Swat Valley, Pakistan, many girls do not receive the same encouragement for the dreams. Families often prevent their girls from going outside their homes and encourage them to marry early. Pakistan has the second highest number of girls out of school of any country in the world. Gender discrimination and a lack of girls’ schools prevent girls from completing primary education. “It’s really hard for women and girls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” Mohammed says of his province. “When just receiving an education is so difficult for them, playing sports is very far-fetched.”
With her family, Ayesha is helping other girls in her community pursue their own careers in taekwondo. “Now we have so many girls learning from us,” Mohammed says about the family’s training academy in Swat. “And it’s because Ayesha’s mother is the one training them. We need female trainers.”
(Courtesy of Ayesha Ayaz)
“All I want in my future is to go to the Olympics and win gold for Pakistan,” Ayesha says. “After that I want to help develop [my country].” Ayesha and her father have already built a school in their hometown and support students who can’t afford the enrolment fees. She hopes to help build a hospital next.
Ayesha knows her goals for the future are ambitious, but she is confident she can achieve them with her father by her side: “As long as I have him, we can do anything together.”
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