World Record: Meet the Delhiite whose almost 7ft kick has made it to Guinness!
Chinmay Sharma, 24, has made a new world record, for highest unassisted 360 kick in martial arts. His inspiration? Former India footballer Sunil Chhetri.
Practising martial arts for the past 15 years, Delhiite Chinmay Sharma has now earned his eighth Guinness World Record with a nearly 7-ft- high kick! The feat, which secured Sharma the world record, was captured and posted by the official page of the organisation on its Instagram, with a caption that read: ‘Highest unassisted martial arts 360 kick (male), 2.08 m (6 ft 9 in) by Chinmay Sharma.’
The viral video, which has so far garnered 417K views, shows Sharma effortlessly performing Tang Soo Do (a Korean martial art). But this is not Sharma’s first, as he already has seven previous records in his name. “It took me over two years and seven failed attempts to finally make my first record in July 2021. The feeling was surreal, and my mother’s comment that ‘People worldwide would now try to break my record’ only motivated me more... I wanted more records to my name and that’s what kept me going,” says the 24-year-old.
His last, i.e. seventh record, was for Fastest Time To Tie A Martial Arts Belt, dated September 2 this year. With the new record, he has made it a hattrick this year! A self defence trainer by profession, Sharma focusses on providing self-defence training to women while claiming that “achieving more records is a personal goal”. He shares, “I’ve been practising martial arts since I was five, and professionally since I was nine. I’ve always wanted to represent India on a global stage. So when a friend told me that after breaking a Guinness World Record, India is written after your name, that's when I knew I had to try more.”
The video of his latest feat has received more than 9K likes with many Instagram viewers expressing amazement and congratulating Sharma. “Making India proud,” wrote one Instagram user while another has commented, “I will break this record,” while a third added, “This is just wow.” But the Delhi lad has also received some negative comments, for his choice of record category appeared pretty easy to some. Sharing his thoughts about this, Sharma says, “This particular record was especially challenging because I’m 5'7'' and it could have been easier for someone taller to achieve. I practiced for more than a month and a half, focusing intensely on my flexibility to reach this goal,” says this resident of Hari Nagar in West Delhi, adding, “Records are meant to be broken, and if the video’s virality encourages more people to try it, that’s great for martial arts visibility. Also, my inspiration is (former India footballer) Sunil Chhetri. I believe he is bigger than football in India, and I hope to become a name synonymous with martial arts just like Chhetri's name is with football.”
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