His father is a lorry driver, his mother a homemaker, and his hometown is Arakkonam in Tamil Nadu. But humble beginnings can beget big dreams, as Dhivakar L, 14, aims to compete in the Commonwealth, Asian, or Olympic Games, and join the Indian Army.
When I first met Dhivakar and his taekwondo instructor, Yuvaraj Loganathan, at a cafe in Beauty World, Upper Bukit Timah Road, I was impressed by the humility and respect both master and student showed. The way Dhivakar bowed as a form of greeting showed how the values taekwondo instills go beyond the practice grounds.
The duo had flown to Singapore for the 11th Daedo Taekwondo Open Championships held last month (Dec 5 to 7).
While Yuvaraj won bronze in the Poomsae Male Dan (1st Dan and Higher) category, Dhivakar won gold in the U14 Poomsae Red-Tip category and silver in the high jump kick event at the championships.
He also advanced to the quarterfinals in the Kyorugi (sparring) category. Poomsae refers to a choreographed pattern of attack-and-defence movements.
The wins were a just reward for their dedication. For the past five months, Dhivakar has been opening the training facility daily at 4.30am, practising until 6am, before heading to school. He then returns to train in the evening.
Such is his dedication that Yuvaraj entrusts him with the keys to the facility. On weekends, he runs with fellow students and Yuvaraj from 5.30am to 8.30am and returns for afternoon and evening training.
Dhivakar has been winning gold continuously in the Poomsae category at state-level taekwondo competitions for the past six years. He has also won bronze in Poomsae at the national level over the last two years.
When just seven, Dhivakar asked his mother to enroll him in an extracurricular activity. His mother asked around and learnt about Kalam UV Taekwondo Academy, which Yuvaraj founded in 2011 in Arakkonam.
Since 2017, Yuvaraj has been working in Singapore as a full-time taekwondo instructor at J H Kim Taekwondo Institute (Bukit Timah), an opportunity he got thanks to Henry Tan, head coach of the National University of Singapore taekwondo team.
Although Yuvaraj came to Singapore to work as a technician in 2014, a chance encounter with Henry eventually gave him the opportunity to turn passion into profession.
Yuvaraj continued teaching students back in Arakkonam through an elaborate camera system he had installed at his home and with help from his wife. Dhivakar would go for training daily.
Taekwondo in itself is not the end, but rather, a means to an end for Dhivakar and fellow students at the academy. The ultimate goal is to shape them into individuals with the attitude and aptitude to make a difference in society, in line with the ideals espoused by former Indian President Dr Abdul Kalam, whom Yuvaraj takes as his inspiration.
Dhivakar can recite more than 30 Thirukkurals (a series of Tamil poetic couplets) in a minute and also regularly partakes in activities like drawing portraits of leaders and planting trees, under Kalam UV Foundation, a nonprofit also started by Yuvaraj.
The boy has also been a part of efforts like drawing the world’s longest chalk portrait of Dr Kalam, which made it to the website Kalam’s World Records.
In 2018, Yuvaraj rebranded the taekwondo academy to Kalam UV International Academy, under which Bharatanatyam classes also commenced on Jan 4. He plans to include fencing and archery this year.
One day, Yuvaraj hopes that his students and he will make it to the Olympics, as competitors and umpires respectively.
He said: “It strains me financially to run the academy and foundation, while also bringing these students for championships. But every time I feel like slowing down, the students eagerly ask me what’s next. That keeps me going!”
