Aarti Thobhani

My cousin Aarti has been an inspiration to me because she has had many obstacles in life but has worked hard at overcoming them and has always remained positive. In 2002, she was at the height of her Tae Kwon Do training and received her Black belt and was the winner of the Sony Sports personality Awards 2002. Unfortunately, a sudden knee inflammation saw the end of her training career and stopped her from following her dreams of attending University. She was unable to walk for up to a year and had lost a lot of muscle in her thigh. She slowly became better and in 2007 suddenly and shockingly lost her healthy and active older sister to an aneurysm, just after having recovered and become more stable of her knee situation. Not only has she stayed positive from all of that she has looked after her parents and has been actively involved with charity and voluntary work as well as eventually pursuing her degree in Broadcast Journalism. Whilst juggling all that she has also been supporting me in achieving my dreams and giving me advice and support with my studies. Due to her active interest in sports and her positive progression from her knee situation I think she would be a prime individual who deserves to shine by being given the opportunity to be a torch bearer for her positivity and as a shining light representing her older sister, her family and the community that she has so positively supported.