Let me take you back to 2010, Rabat, Morocco, where a young boy clutches the medal around his neck, won by his resilient efforts in taekwondo. The times he failed and got back up, several injuries and internal conflicts he powered through flashes in the back of his mind. It all seems like a speckle in the face of his first victory, albeit third place.

Present day, Adnane Kanane is the Head Coach of the Maldives Taekwondo Federation and views taekwondo as a way of life as it teaches one discipline, respect and punctuality and helps one reach the delicate balance between sports and study.

Who really is Adnane Kanane? I’m not just attempting to give you a small profile, but to dig a little deep into what makes Coach Kanane, him. Afterall, who is behind this sporty exterior?

For all, he may be Coach Kanane, but for his students, he is hope, he is inspiration, he is light.

With a long line of most grateful parents lined up, Kanane has contributed immensely to the success of taekwondo in the Maldives and aspires to continue his efforts to build a strong taekwondo team.

Maldivian athletes have attained victory in several championships under his capable leadership.

Inspirational, legendary, epic, aspirational, motivational, encouraging, kind and compassionate are just some words his students and their parents use to describe Kanane.

For Kanane, the relationship he has with his students is "unbreakable".

Having gotten into taekwondo at the ripe age of four, Kanane began his journey just as anyone else would, as a player.

Coming from a culture that supports sports and believes it helps children make good friends and stay away from bad influence alongside boosting one’s self-confidence, a young Kanane was thrilled when his parents decided to enroll him in a taekwondo club back home.

Talking about the challenges he faced in his taekwondo career, Kanane recalled the multiple internal conflicts and the many more injuries.

He however believes these challenges thrown to him helped him in the long run and described taekwondo to have taught him self-reliance.

Kanane, who evolved into a stronger person within a short period of time, said that the reason that pushed him to turn his back on everything else and dedicate his life to taekwondo was to share the joy and experience he has with inspiring, young and professional athletes.

The young coach believes that giving or sharing something with the world is what truly makes a person happiest.

Touching upon the support of his family, Kanane added that family support was crucial to build a champion and as he belongs to a sports family, he did not face any discouragement from them throughout his taekwondo journey.

From third place in the junior class of the Moroccan Regional Championship in his first participation, to first place in the qualifiers for the Moroccan Championship in 2018, Kanane has come a long way down a rocky road that entangled him many successes and losses alike.

Some of the many tournaments he competed in include the Third World Taekwondo President Cup Africa Region, Agadir Morocco 2019, International Open in Oujda, as well as the esteemed World Taekwondo Grand Prix.

In 2016, Kanane kick-started his training by assisting his coach in classes and began to slowly learn and combine his experience as a player with his strong personality and creativity in classes.

Despite not being completely interested at first, Kanane got immersed in the “leader’s vibe”, and later began joining a lot of courses to enrich his information regarding taekwondo.

After years of jumping hurdles and climbing his way to new heights in taekwondo that got Kanane hooked to the sport, Kanane’s federation and masters verified him as a professional coach in 2017.

The taekwondo master does not wish to master any other sport, however, he expressed his love for running which he describes as a fundamental activity to boost any athlete’s fitness.

As someone who believes taekwondo is an adventure that only adventurers can take part in, Kanane has come across some quitters throughout his career, to whom he wishes to say that the challenge is not easy and if it was easy, anyone could become a champion.

October 2021 was when Kanane touched down in the Maldives and since his arrival, he has made it his life goal to make history in the archipelago nation, which he describes would be his biggest achievement.

Being a society plagued by bullying, harassment and other forms of violence, many parents believe taekwondo to be a great source to build the mental strength of their young children, by training them to boost self-reliance and confidence to stand up for themselves. Coach Kanane believes the same and firmly believes that taekwondo can treat bullying and harassment by building the personality of taekwondo players to strong levels, so that they are not affected by the words of others.  

Crediting all his strength, power and energy to the sport of taekwondo, Kanane said that it not only made him a champion and coach, but also made him “unshakable by the strongest of winds” and whose character cannot be “shredded to dust”.

As a Maldives Taekwondo Kyorugi Federation coach, Kanane’s present focus is on his goal to make a world champion.

Despite having started from nothing, an enthusiastic Kanane said that Taekwondo Maldives is currently ranked 212 in the World Taekwondo Federation.

His most valuable advice to aspiring taekwondo players, is to “rely on yourself”.

Preparations are currently underway for the Maldives team to participate in a lot of international tournaments, soon, according to Kanane.