Gujarati movie captures journey of 10-year-old Indian Taekwondo star

Though, taekwondo is one of the most popular martial art in the world, it has never been a mainstream sport in India. So, it definitely comes as a surprise when you realise that an Indian movie captured a story of a ten year old Taekwondo star. As surprised as you might be, this is true.

A Gujarati movie named, Diya: The Wonder Girl, hit the regional screens on November 2019. Directed by Suresh Bishnoi, this movie captured the journey of a ten year old Taekwondo star, Diya Patel, from the city of Ahmedabad.

Diya The Wonder Girl

A well-known face in the Ahmedabad Taekwondo circles, the then ten year old Diya played herself in the movie. Even though, the movie didn’t find great box office success, it was a huge revelation for the Gujarati Cinema. It along with another film named, Gujarat 11, were one of the first sports based movies in Gujarati language.

Diya started practicing the martial art of Taekwondo when she was just seven years old. She had also admitted that she was initially not happy with the sport but her concered parents put her into Taekwondo class for self defence due to the crimes against children in the city.

A student of the much recognised HB Kapadia School in Ahmedabad, Diya had earlier acted in a Hindi movie based on Triple Talaq titled, Phir Usi Mod Par. The young girl was also the poster girl for Gujarat Government’s Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign.