17 Yr Old Harleen Kaur is a Martial Art World Champion & 2nd Degree Black Belt Karate !

At the age of 17, Harleen Kaur has unreservedly demonstrated her passion. Born to an Indian-British immigrant family, she is a high school junior with a clear goal of majoring in physiotherapy in college; outside of school, she is a frequent caregiver to cancer patients in India, flying there once a year; In the meantime, she is the proud WMKF World Champion Silver Medalist in kickboxing and a devoted ambassador at Asian Sports Foundation.

Harleen is especially keen on the issue of gender inequality in the sports area, promoting respect and equal pay for female athletes, and encouraging women and girls to enjoy benefits brought by sports – gym exercise, swimming, yoga, kickboxing, any kinds! Harleen thinks women are missing out the biggest opportunity to be their healthiest, strongest and most beautiful self by avoiding sports, a result of traditional parenting values in raising girls in many families – especially Asian.

Inspite of her fluency in her native language, the real challenge was in getting local people’s support on her charity work, which included offering free cancer tests and medication to villagers who couldn’t afford them, sending villagers to the health centers where free services were provided and promoting healthcare awareness to people who didn’t have access to it. Obstacles always existed – for instance, people stopped their ambulance from using the roads that were “owned by the government.” Harleen & her team of volunteers worked very hard to tackle difficulties that came from the weakness in the local infrastructures, system and mindset. Every challenge she has tackled is a trophy of her strength and resilience, which she has gained from her 10 years of sports upbringing.