The city of destiny has produced prominent sports players. One such sportsperson from Vizag is Anmish Varma Bhupathiraju, a World Martial Arts Champion, mountaineer, and social worker. This is the story of a kid now turned champion who did not give up on his dreams despite the financial constraints; instead, he went on to conquer the world in martial arts and is also on a quest to conquer the highest peak on each continent.

MARTIAL ARTS
A nine-year-old kid got inspired by the Telugu hit film "Thammudu," released in 1999, and started Karate; little did he know that he would make the nation proud one day. Anmish Varma Bhupathiraju is a professional martial artist who learned karate at his school, then from his karate guru, Kanaka Rao, and later from Okinawa Sports Karate-Do Association Vizag.

His determination is so strong that in 2002 he won his first medal at the Open National Karate Championship held in Vizag. His dedication and perseverance in the game increased in 2012, when he was unable to compete in the USA WKU championship due to a lack of sponsorship; from then on, his determination paved the way for greater victories. In 2014, he won a silver medal in the World Martial Arts Championship by the World Kickboxing and Karate Union (WKU) held in London, and he went on to win bronze in 2015 in Spain and bronze in 2016 in the USA.

In 2018, he became the first Indian to win gold at the World Martial Arts Championship held in Athens, Greece, and again in 2019, he won gold in Austria. This World Champion is also the only Indian to win six international medals for the nation at the World Martial Arts Championship. His current medal tally stood at 67, of which 59 are gold, 3 are silver, and 5 are bronze.
                                                                                                                        MOUNTAINEERING
Vizag hills always create interest in trekking, and the views after reaching the hilltop would be scenic and mesmerizing. Anmish is no exception; he used to feel happy after reaching the top of a hill; this applied even to his mountaineering. He trained at the Adventure Sports Academy at Gandikota. He took the basic mountaineering course at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling and an advanced course at the Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering in Pahalgam, Jammu, and Kashmir.
                                                                                                                                          On his way to scale the Seven Summits, which consist of Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Mount Vinson, and the Carstensz Pyramid, the highest peaks on each of the seven continents, scaling these peaks always poses a threat to his or her life. From dropping oxygen levels to temperatures, from landslides to snowstorms, everything stands as a hurdle in the journey; every step a mountaineer takes will have a threat underneath. 

But these couldn't let Anmish's confidence down. He recently scaled North America's highest peak, Mt. Denali, also known as Mt. McKinley, in June 2022. On June 6th, 2021, he successfully scaled Mt. Everest, the highest peak not just in Asia but in the world, and in the same year, he climbed Mt. Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe, in September. In 2020, he scaled Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa, and Mt. Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America. He now eyes Australia's highest peak and is awaiting a sponsorship. In terms of mountaineering, he wishes to become the first Indian to complete the "Explorers Grand Slam Challenge" by reaching the South Pole and the North Pole, along with scaling the seven peaks.
 
AWARDS
In recognition of his achievements, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry governments awarded him with the Best Sportsperson Awards in 2019. The Andhra Pradesh government recognised him as the youth icon of the year 2019–20. In 2021, he also won an Exemplary Award and many other awards for his achievements.

SOCIAL WORK
Way before all this recognition, he founded an NGO named Kalpavruksh in 2010. Through this NGO, he is actively involved in serving society. Over the last decade, they have trained over 100,000 girls and women in self-defense. During the lockdown, he was one of the COVID-19 heroes who extended helping hands in their own ways. He and his team came forward and provided essential support to the district administration. Through his NGO, they distributed essential commodities to the needy and migrants.

Hello Vizag wishes this Vizag lad success in winning more medals for the country and completing the Explorers Grand Slam Challenge.