National taekwondo exponent Raffique Hashimi, who recently rose to No. 8 in the world poomsae (demonstration) Under-40 rankings, has been representing the country in the sport since 2008, but he remains largely under the radar.
The 37-year-old Raffique’s story starts in Penang, where he picked up taekwondo at the age of seven after his Malay father and Dutch mother felt he needed to learn a martial art before joining a lion dance troupe.
After moving to Kuala Lumpur, he enrolled at the BTFC Taekwondo Club, where he trained under Kevin Woon, who became the first Malaysian to referee at an Olympics taekwondo tournament when he was picked for the job at the 2004 edition in Athens.
Fast forward to 2021, and Raffique’s hefty CV includes gold medals from local meets such as the SMK Raja Abdullah Invitational Championship to international tournaments like the 2019 Asian Open in Vietnam.
Overall, the 6th dan black belt has won more than 110 gold medals throughout his career, and being No. 8 in the world in his age category may just be the icing on the cake.
“It’s pretty emotional for me. I never thought I would be ranked eighth in the world,” beamed the seven-time national champion.
“Before this, my pinnacle was at the 2016 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championship in Peru where I finished fifth.
“I hope this will help bring more support for not only poomsae and taekwondo, but all sports in general.
“I think there are many more unsung heroes in local sports who deserve recognition as well.”
The ranking, which is a newly introduced feature by taekwondo governing body World Taekwondo, saw Raffique, who is also the coaching board chairman for Taekwondo Kuala Lumpur, open at ninth in the standings in August.
A full-time audio engineer, the father of three has been the head instructor at BTFC Taekwondo Club for the last four years.
While the pandemic may have put a stop to physical classes, and online classes may not be attracting the same number of students, Raffique said a bright spot was the interest his family had shown in the sport.
“My wife took up taekwondo during the pandemic, and my brother recently resumed training after something like 20 years or so,” said Raffique, whose two sons are also involved in the martial art.
“A lot of people have not been doing so well (training) during the pandemic, but we hope to inspire people to continue.”