Aspi-ring to be the best

Wagh, however, was not the only one to hone the little giant’s talent. There was also Shihan Vispy Kapadia’s guidance at the same academy, which polished Shon’s skills and prepared him for his first kick in the international arena.

At five, Shon accompanied the Indian team to the first Asian Pacific Championship in Malaysia in 1995 where his enthusiasm got better of him.

The young boy took to the battle-field without waiting for the referee’s signal. He entered thering and pushed his Russian opponent out of the arena. The referee has to intervene to stop the unofficial, one-sided fight! Shon finished with a second degree green belt in the under-8 age-group.

Shon made another international trip, this time to Thailand, for a goodwill tournament. The experience of these two trips has made him believe he can take on any opponent.

Shon again represented the country for the second Asian Pacific Karate-Do Championship at Pune in December ’96.

In the national championships conducted by the Army School of Physical Training in Pune the same year, he won a gold, silver and a bronze medal. The next year in Chennai, Shon won two silver medals in the all-style category.

"It all comes through hard work," said Asha Kapoor, principal of Holy Family school, calling him the "school’s pride".

"He is a sincere and disciplined student, especially active in outdoor games," she said of the boy who likes playing cricket also with brother Shavir.

And if things go his way, the champmight soon see his name in the record books. His academy has claimed that he is the youngest black-belt in the country and the application has been sent to the Limca Book of Records.