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16 Year Old With Cerebral Palsy to Compete in Karate World Championships

A 16-year old boy, Srimanth Bal will be representing India at the World Karate Championships in Pittsburgh. What makes Srimanth's story so incredible is that for 11 years of his life he was confined to a wheel chair.

Srimanth suffers from cerebral palsy. Through his hard work and dedication he's even surprised himself. "I am a black belt and will participate in the World Championship. I never thought that all this would happen. In the past three yeas, I have progressed a lot. I don't know myself what I have achieved," said Srimanth.

Before Srimanth found karate his life was drastically different. Doctors had basically ruled out the chances of him ever being able to walk, as he was confined to a wheel chair and even had to be force fed his meals, but under the tutelage of his coach, Hardhik Joshi, he has made leaps and bounds.

"Five years ago in 2004, we started giving him training. At that time he could not even walk. Initially, it was very difficult how to train him. But, I guided him and trained him. We even gave him psychological treatment," said Hardhik Joshi,Srimanth's coach.

Srimanth's father came to find Hardhik Joshi after doctor's suggested exercise to treat his son's cerebral palsy over medicine. Srinavas Bal, Srimanth's father, then contacted the head of All India Isshinryu Karate Association and sought his help. He was then told to contact Hardhik Joshi who has since been Srimanth's coach, and ever since then Srimanth has hit the ground running.

Now 5 years after the beginning of his training, Srimanth has earned black belt status in karate and will compete in the world championships. In order to achieve black belt status Srimanth had to complete a non-stop 15 ½ mile jog and a number of different endurance tests that called for 100 repetitions of each exercise.

The world championships will take place this June in Pittsburgh, PA. Srimanth is confident that he will return from the championships having performed well.

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