Son of BEST driver and newspaper vendor seeks MMA glory in Las Vegas

Dreams come true only for those who dare to dream Beating all odds Manish Sikhre 25 is all set to fly to Las Vegas to fulfil his dream of representing India at the World Championship of Amateur MMA Mixed Martial Arts on July 5 Renowned as UFC Ultimate Fight Club International Fight Week over 200 amateur competitors from 47 countries are expected to participate at the international eventBesides operating a newspaper stand Meena Sikhre left is now working as a domestic help and a cook to make extra income Manish above right and below poses with a gold medal he won at a recent competitionUnfortunately inadequate finances are threatening to crush Manishrsquos dream The weeklong trip is going to cost him about R265 lakh While the family has managed to raise Rs 1 lakh after mortgaging his motherrsquos jewellery the Sikhres are leaving no stone unturned to amass the restThe family of four resides in a small house at MHADA colony Charkop While Manish conducts parttime MMA classes his father is a BEST conductor In addition his mother runs a newspaper stall outside their home to support the familyMum to the rescueSpeaking to midday Manish revealed that he received a letter from All India Mixed Martial Arts Association AIMMAA in February informing him about his selection for the event However the thought of managing the expenses bogged him down ldquoMy mother Meena sensed my plight She immediately mortgaged whatever jewellery she had and we managed to raise Rs 1 lakhrdquoSpeaking from their modest25x30 square feet apartment Meena who appears to have aged beyond her years said she had bought those ornaments by saving R100 per month But Meena said she is more than happy that the gold purchased then is now helping her son materialise his dreamldquoMy husband Arun just resumed duty after four months of bed rest He suffers from chest pain and stomachache which refuse to heal Moreover his feet swell due to standing for long hours Besides running the newspaper stand Irsquove now started working as a domestic help and a cook to make extra incomerdquo said MeenalsquoAlways a champrsquoNarrating her sonrsquos achievements Meena said that Manish was in Class II when he first took karate lessons ldquoIn the next five years he earned his firstdegree 1st dan black belt In 2011 he earned his thirddegree 3rd dan black belt in Sri Lanka and a gold medal at the Mayors Cup Championship So far he has won 45 golds at various state and national level championships Moreover he has won equal number of silver and bronze medals Due to space constraints we are unable to display his medals in the house so we have carefully packed and kept them in a boxrdquo added MeenaPressed for cashOver 6 feet tall Manish is an expert karate taekwondo jiujitsu BrazilianJapanese Systema Russian martial arts and Muay Thai fighter Elaborating on his routine Manish said he trains for up to six hours a day following which he conducts MMA and selfdefence workshops for women at a school in Malad for free ldquoI canrsquot afford to spend on a meat diet or purchase highprotein health supplements My breakfast consists of four eggs followed by a simple meal of two chapatis and a vegetable For dinner I eat only saladrdquo he saidSpeaking to midday AIMMAA general secretary and president Shihan Sharif Babu said he recently learned about Manishrsquos financial woesldquoHe is one of the best fighters we have and it will be a pity if he misses out for such a prime event due to cash crunch We have selected 10 fighters from all over India and two of the boys are from Mumbai and Thane These fighters get paid only after they become professionals We plan to leave on July 1 so that we are in time for the physical tests and segregation of participants as per their weightrdquo