The grit and determination to achieve something new that will bring you attention from the world is very rare and not found easily. That grit and that spirit is found in plenty in a 19 year old boy who is now a member of the Guiness Book of World Records. The boy Yash Pawar entered that book by creating a new world record by doing 77 Jumping Jacks in 30 seconds.
Now you may be curious to ask what is a jumping jack? A jumping jack, also known as a star jump is a physical jumping exercise performed by jumping to a position with the legs spread wide and the hands going overhead, sometimes in a clap, and then returning to a position with the feet together and the arms at the sides. It can be quite a taxing experience. For Yash Pawar, the journey to this world record is quite circuitous. It started off from the time when he was interested in shooting. 10 metres air rifle shooting to be precise. He was told that he would need a good amount of stamina to hold the rifle for hours. He was advised to either run or do jumping jacks. He did not like running and ended up doing jumping jacks.
He practised for a year and could do 100 in a minute. During this period of time, he was rummaging through his belongings, he came across a note he wrote to himself at five in which he said he would be part of the Guinness Book of World Records. He then searched for the record of most jumping jacks in a minute and learned that it was 72. He thought he would be able to break it easily. He then realised that nothing in life came easily. He tried and failed. He decided that he would try something else and create a new record. He was very clear he wanted to break a record and be part of the book. He then tried the International Book of Records. He broke some records there in the 10, 15 and 30 seconds doing the jumping jack.
He says, “I tried to break the 30 second record and failed again. The third time I tried it, I realised it was very important. I knew I had to break the record. I decided on January 23, that I wanted that record. And all my efforts were focused on that. I was so serious that I made a promise to myself and stopped eating chips till I broke that record.” He even went through a 30 day 10,000 jumping jack challenge to prepare for this record.
While preparing for this record, he experienced several injuries, physical and psychological pain. All this lead to the fateful day of May 16, 2024 when he did 77 jumping jacks in 30 seconds. He says, “I had fulfilled the wish of that 5 year old who had made that promise all those years ago.”
This record he says was due to the efforts of various people. His parents, Dr Vivek and Dr Rajshri Pawar were with him throughout. He loved practising at 4 in the morning. His parents would be awake keeping time for all his efforts. He says he saw the pain in their eyes when he suffered injuries but when he insisted on continuing which was even more painful to see. However, he would continue to bring them pain in the future with his attempts. He thanked his friends who were there with him and kept him motivated. He also thanked his college, St Xavier' College in Mapusa where he would practise near the hall. He says everyone was so helpful.
When asked if he had received any communication from the Guinness organisation, he said he had received two letters from them in the past. He and his family were having dinner when he received the third letter. When he read the letter, he realised it had been recognised. He started yelling at the top of his voice and his neigbours told him that they could hear him clearly. His parents are naturally quite pleased. When asked what next, he smiles and says, "I intend to try to do jumping jacks for an entire minute and create a new record. That will happen in two or three years time."