Seventeen-year-old Mumbai resident Arjun Agarwal did not have to look far for inspiration to contribute to society. Growing up, he saw his grandfather’s leaning towards social work, especially for the education of the underprivileged. They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and by his mid-teens, Agarwal had found his calling. Today, he is making a difference in a domain he understands well, ie, self-defence. The Class 12 student teaches Taekwondo to around 50 kids in Mulund’s Saptarshi Park every Sunday.

Agarwal is an international-level Taekwondo player, boasting accolades like a gold medal in Kyorugi at the World Taekwondo Culture Expo in South Korea (2022), silver medals at the UK Korean Ambassador’s Cup and the KMAMA World Open Online Championship in 2021, and gold medals in the International School Sports Organisation tournaments in 2023 and 2022. He got into Taekwondo a decade ago, and today, he is a “Dan-2 Black Belt” (an advanced level black belt) in the Korean martial art.