Little girl with big amibitions:
‘I wish to become a world champion’
Mahdieh Nikjoo, a young girl with a calm and pleasant demeanor, began her taekwondo journey at the tender age of four. Under the watchful eye of her father and coach in the Hakimiyeh neighborhood of Tehran, she quickly excelled. By the age of eight, she had outperformed her peers in the Iranian Taekwondo Federation exam, becoming the youngest participant to receive a black belt. This achievement marked her as the youngest female taekwondo practitioner in the country to do so, an impressive record in its own right.
Mahdieh, born in 2014, is a shy, quiet, and beaming girl. When she first entered the editorial office of Iran Daily, she looked around in awe. As she sat down for the interview, she offered small smiles and kept her head down, indicating her shyness. The interview seemed to be a bit challenging for her, so we turned to her parents instead.
We asked her father, Hossein Nikjoo, why he chose taekwondo for his daughter. He explained that he was once a professional athlete in this martial art, but had to leave due to a medical issue. However, he always dreamed of enrolling his child in the sport. From the moment Mahdieh was born, he had an ambitious plan for her. He started taking her to the gym at the age of four, with the goal of her earning a black belt by the age of eight.
Mahdieh’s mother, carrying a strong sense of motherly love with her, shared that while it was initially challenging to get her daughter to the gym and through training sessions, Mahdieh now loves the sport. She even trains at home on days when she doesn’t have gym sessions. The young athlete is determined to become a champion in the national competition scheduled for next summer.
Despite her young age, Mahdieh faced the challenges of attending classes and performing rigorous exercises. With her father’s encouragement, she successfully earned her red belt in taekwondo at the age of seven. This achievement was even more remarkable considering the clubs were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making sports training more difficult than ever.
Hossein recalls the early days of the pandemic when his daughter practiced at home and sometimes in the neighborhood park. When the club reopened, training resumed under emergency conditions, with athletes required to train with masks. This was particularly challenging for the children, who had to exert more effort while wearing masks.
Interestingly, at the age of four, Mahdieh had not yet started school and had not learned to read and write in her native language of Farsi, and yet, she had to learn Korean, the language of taekwondo. Her father wrote the Korean words she needed to learn on the wall of her room so she could practice daily.
When asked about her aspirations, the shy and quiet girl looks at her father and says, “I wish to become a world
champion.”
We turned to her father and asked, “Are you ready for this journey? Don’t you worry about your daughter getting hurt?”
He firmly answers, “No, in recent years, girls’ interest in martial arts has increased. However, some families consider this sport violent and unsuitable for girls.”
Her father went on to inform us that although martial arts are based on the principles of self-defense, respect, and the defense of peace and friendship, some people may have misconceptions. A martial arts student always begins with defensive moves, not with attacking ones. At each stage of taekwondo, the student learns important values such as discipline, respect, humility, patience, tolerance, endurance, and an indomitable
spirit.
“Furthermore, among combat sports, taekwondo is the only discipline accepted in the Olympics. It provides comprehensive protective equipment from head to toe, and currently, blows are controlled with sensors placed on the athletes’ helmets and clothing.”
“There is no need to worry,” he said with a smile of confidence on his lips.