Four members of The Heritage School taekwondo team with the coach

They?re all of about nine years old, but already international champs. The five students of The Heritage School laughed, cried, fought and made friends on their trip to Sidney, winning medals on the way. For Harsh Sharma, Yash Singhi, Sanidhya Jain, Asish Kothari and Karan Kaushik, the weeklong trip, from April 13 to 20, was more than just about a taekwondo championship. It was about growing up.

April 17 was the Sidney International Open Taekwon-Do and TK-1 Championship in the Australian city, open to all age groups. Apart from a man from Gujarat, India was represented by seven students from Calcutta (two youngsters from La Martiniere For Boys were also in the Indian Taekwondo Federation ? Bengal team). Accompanied by coach Mrityunjoy Roy, who also participated, the team brought back more than 10 medals.

Nine-year-olds Harsh and Sanidhya were injured in the ring in the sparring contests, but completed the contests even while crying and fighting at the same time. But they?re proud to admit that they won prizes in the end. ?We were not scared. It wasn?t difficult,? shrugs Harsh.

The champ of the team was Asish, winning a bronze in patters, silver in sparring and gold in creative sparring. The 11-year-old was in Sydney last October, participating in an international karate competition and winning laurels. At the taekwondo championship, there were 175 participants from five countries, aged six years onwards. ?We take part in a lot of contests here. And we always win,? smiles Asish.

The youngsters ate burgers and Indian take-outs, shopped in Sydney?s Haymarket, visited the Town Hall, Opera House and harbour, rode the underground monorail and loved the aquarium. They practised in earnest, and occasionally missed home.

?The exposure is important in confidence-building. Yes, it does create a divide, because some parents can?t afford to send their children. But that?s life,? says headmistress Meenakshi Atal.

Last October, three students were on a cricket tour to South Africa, as part of the Galaxy cricket club team set up by Snehashish Ganguly, brother of Indian skipper Sourav. ?They came back with a renewed purpose and much better communication skills,? adds cricket coach Nilashish Ghosh.