Rohullah nikpai biography of martin

Jahangir Khan, born in Karachi, Pakistan in December to a Pashtun family from Peshawar, is widely regarded as the best squash player of all time. When Khan was born, doctors told his parents he was physically weak and shouldn't take part in any physical activity. But in November , at the age of 17, he became the sport's youngest-ever world champion.

Khan went on to win the World Open six times, the British Open a record 10 times and was ranked world number one for six years.

At the start of his career, Khan was coached by his father Roshan, who had won the British Open, and then by his brother Torsam, a top-level player who was president of the International Squash Players Association and reached a high of 13th in the world rankings.

When Khan was 15, after missing out on selection for the World Championships, he entered the World Amateur Individual Championship. He became the youngest winner of the tournament in history.

Liverpool’s Martin Stamper was unfortunate not to get his hands on a medal at the London Olympics.

He reached the semi-finals of the men’s 68kg Taekwondo competition.

The year-old fell to a defeat against the highest seed and eventual gold medal winner Servet Tazegül, before losing in a repêchage match to Afghanistan’s Rohullah Nikpai.

During a professional career that spanned over 10 years, Stamper won a bronze medal at the World Championships in South Korea.

He claimed title wins at the US, German and British Opens and he picked up silver and bronze medals at the and European Championships, respectively.

He announced his retirement in after missing out on a place at the Rio Olympics but has since turned his attention to coaching.

Merseysportlive spoke to him to find out how his coaching career is going and what his experience of competing at a home Olympics was like.

So, how did you get into taekwondo in the first place?
“I was six years old and my mum got fed up with me in the house. She took me over to the local taekwondo club in Dovecot where I grew up and I loved it pretty much from then.”

What was the highlight of your professional career and why?
“It would probably have to be competing at the Olympic Games. The feeling I had when walking out in front of thousands of people shouting and screaming my name was unbelievable and it’s something I still get chills thinking about now.”

What was it like to compete at a home Olympics?
“Amazing! It was so nice to have my family there, especially my daughter who was two years old at the time. It’s something I will never forget.
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a medal and it took me a while to get over. But reflecting back, it was such an amazing experience and an achievement to compete at a home Olympic Games.”

How has life changed since your retirement from competing?
“Honestly not much. I retired and two weeks later I was back in the same gym working with all the same people but as a coach

Hazara Taekwondo practitioner

Rohullah Nikpa (Dari: روح‌الله نیکپا; born June 15, ) is a taekwondo practitioner and two-time Olympic bronze medalist from Afghanistan. As of , he is the only Afghan athlete to have won a medal at the Olympics. In , he became the coach of New Zealand’s national taekwondo team.

Career

An ethnic Hazara, Nikpa started his training in Iran, at the age of During the s civil war, his family left the city and lived as refugees in Iran. He became a member of the Afghan Taekwondo team after watching martial arts films. He repatriated to Afghanistan in and continued his training at the government provided Olympic training facility in Kabul. At the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar Nikpa competed in the flyweight division where he was defeated by eventual silver medalist Nattapong Tewawetchapong of Thailand in the round of

Nikpa competed in the 58&#;kg category at the Summer Olympics, defeating two-time world champion Juan Antonio Ramos of Spain to win the bronze medal, making him Afghanistan's first (and as of , only) Olympic medalist in any event. He became a national hero, returning to Afghanistan and getting off the plane to be met with a crowd of thousands. Then-Afghan President Hamid Karzai immediately called to congratulate Nikpa. Karzai also awarded him a house, car, and other luxuries at the government’s expense. "I hope this will send a message of peace to my country after 30 years of war," Nikpa said. In the Summer Olympics, Rohullah entered the 68&#;kg category, where he was defeated by Iran's Mohammad Bagheri Motamed; he eventually won his bronze medal at the Olympic Games after defeating Martin Stamper of Great Britain.

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