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DESPITE being a Maths teacher by day and cricket player by night has not stopped Harinder Sekhon,30, of Shah Alam from now being a proud Guinness World Records holder.
Having recently set a new Guinness World Record for the highest single-leg stand jump at 1.384m, breaking the previous record of 1.34m by Canadian Evan Ungar, The Vibes poses some questions to this high achiever.
Could you share with our readers about your job and sporting career?
I’m a Mathematics teacher at MAZ International School, Shah Alam as well as a national cricketer.
So, how is life like juggling them?
To be honest, it’s tough. My days are very hectic and I hardly have much time for myself. By the time I get home, I’m exhausted and any free time I have, I’m usually editing workout videos for my social media to help people, which by the way, you can find on http://Twitter @harinsekhon9 and on Instagram @harinsekhon.
Have you ever imagined life without one or the other?
I’ve done without teaching during the 2017 SEA Games, but I really enjoy teaching. I’m a secondary teacher spreading knowledge and helping kids; listening to them, being a figure they can look up to which gives a nice feeling.
It wasn’t a hard decision to go back to teaching because it’s hard to get sponsorships as an athlete and my job is a great safety net.
Still, I can't imagine my life not being an athlete too. That would be too difficult. Fitness and being an athlete is my passion.
With everything on your plate, life must get overwhelming at some point. So, what do you do when you feel life is in a slump?
I just remind myself why I started, what I’m doing and think about my goals and targets - which I’m very determined to achieve.
How did you start playing cricket?
I started playing cricket when I was 14 when my school friends from India introduced the sport to me. I made great strides until I made the national team in 2016.
Why and what keeps you going?
Cricket is a sport that I really enjoy and picked up quickly. After getting into the state team and then the national squad, I just never looked back.
You recently broke not only the national record for highest single-leg jump, but also the Guinness World Record. What was your motivation to do so?
I’ve always been part of team sports and this was a great opportunity to see what I could achieve on my own - through hard work, sacrifice and dedication.
I set out to take on big challenges like these because, in order to excel at something, you need to aim high - big goals and targets.
IG link: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CQ0taygFcAp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
What were the trainings towards breaking these records like?
It was just continuous training with a very strict diet routine. During the lockdown last year, all I did were leg and core exercises at home. Only in December 2020 did I decide to see how high I could jump and seriously took it through to the next level.
Throughout this journey, I had to buy my own equipment and trained on my own. Both the events (national and Guinness World record) were nerve-wrecking yet exciting.
Mentally, it was easy to keep calm as I’m quite used to being in these situations as an athlete.
With all your hard work, it must be surreal when you finally broke the records. At what point did your success with the Guinness World Record finally sink in?
To be honest I don’t think about it much but it’s quite surreal. Only when I’m training with my team or when people congratulate me and say or write nice things about the success that I think about it. Even today, I’m surprised that I achieved that.
What do you attribute most to your success?
Hard work, dedication and sacrifice. I trained every day and stuck to a very clean diet; no fast food, soft drinks, desserts or alcohol. The support from my family and girlfriend were very important and although I could not spend much time with them or was too tired, they were very understanding.
On another note, I kept a picture of my baby niece at the top of the platforms when I did both records. She’s definitely my little good luck charm.
As a teaser to what Harinder might do next, he shared that he’s definitely looking to break more national and world records.
“Who knows, maybe one day I’ll represent Malaysia in a global jumping event. I’m working really hard to do the best I can.” - The Vibes. July 12, 2021
