For 17 year old Ritzela Diniz, the laurels cannot seem tostop. She is not one of the more established senior belt holders, yet excels atmartial arts. The young girl, a student of Our Lady of Rosary Higher SecondarySchool in Dona Paula, has been bagging medals since 2008.
Ritzela’s foray into the field of martial arts stemmedsolely from the advice of a concerned uncle. Francisco, her mother Rita’sbrother, ensured that she took up karate at the age of 11so that she wouldalways be able to defend herself. Until that point in time, her only area ofinterest was athletics, something she retains an interest in till today.
“I cannot imagine my life without a sporting aspect to it.However, owing to the fact that I would like to build a stable career formyself, I try to find a balance between sports and academics,” she says. Herparents, Julio and Rita Diniz, are both former sports persons and an importantdriving force in her disciplined approach to life. Her father used to be afootballer and while mother was a Karate-ka. “I was the first woman in Goa togive my brown belt exam in the style of Budokan,” says Rita reminiscently.
Her first teacher was the internationally celebrated trainerfor children, Sensei Uday Zambaulikar. Having learned the basics of the martialart under him, she then joined the World Shotokan Karate Federation, to trainunder Sensei Joseph Rodrigues.
It was after only a few months after she took up karate,that she participated in her first ever event; the World Funakoshi tournament.During one of the matches, Ritzela, in a moment of hesitation, turned a tooaggressive and was disqualified. “I was really upset at the time, but it was ahuge lesson for me.I realised that I had lots to learn. Karate is not aboutaggression or violence. Understanding that made me gain confidence,” sheremarks.
Since then, Ritzela Diniz has taken strides forward.Currently a purple belt holder, she looks to the future in anticipation. Shehas given her brown belt exam, and is in the process of preparing for upcomingState and International Tournaments. But most of all, she looks forward to theday when she could emulate her parents. “I want to complete my post-graduationand join the police force as an IPS officer. Then again, the navy is aninteresting option. As long as my career allows me to pursue sports and martialarts, I think I’ll be alright,” she signs off.
