No home, no quit: How Assam girl Janmoni Konwar went from a tent to karate gold in Delhi, thanks to PhysicsWallah founder Alakh Pandey

For 17-year-old Janmoni Konwar, getting to a karate championship in Delhi looked difficult after floods forced her family out of their home in Assam. They were living on an embankment with a tarpaulin for shelter when PhysicsWallah founder and CEO Alakh Pandey met her family in Jorhat. Days later, Janmoni was in Delhi, where she won all three of her bouts and secured a gold medal with a 10-2 victory in the final.

From a flooded home to a makeshift shelter

Janmoni was preparing for the 20th All India Independence Cup Karate Championship 2026 when the floods disrupted her plans.

Floodwater entered her home on July 19, forcing her family to move to the Bhogdoi river embankment. Their house remained around 5 feet underwater, while the family stayed on the dyke under a tarpaulin.


For Janmoni, this was not her first national-level competition. The Class 12 student had already won national medals in 2024 and 2025 and was preparing to compete again.

But with her family dealing with the floods, travelling to Delhi for the championship had become a challenge.

Then Alakh Pandey met Janmoni’s family

Pandey was travelling through flood-hit upper Assam from July 30 to distribute relief when he met Janmoni’s family at their shelter in Jorhat on August 3. He noticed the medals Janmoni had won and heard about her ambitions in karate. The meeting eventually changed her plans for the championship.

“Pandey sir met my brother Krishnamoni and learnt about me. The next day I met him at our shelter,” Janmoni said.

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A post shared by Alakh Pandey (@alakhsir_pw)

Pandey arranged her flight tickets and accommodation so she could travel to Delhi.

“He arranged my flight tickets and accommodation… He only asked me to perform well.” Janmoni flew to Delhi on August 6.

Once Janmoni reached Delhi, the teenager did not let the difficult circumstances back home distract her from the competition.

She won all three of her bouts at the championship. In the final, she produced a commanding 10-2 win to take the gold medal.

The result added another national-level achievement to the record of a young karate player who had already won medals in the previous two years.

Pandey says Janmoni deserves the credit

After Janmoni’s victory, Pandey shared her story on Instagram and made it clear that he did not see himself as the main character in it.

“This is Janmoni’s story. She is the hero. I am only a medium.”

Pandey credited Janmoni’s years of hard work, along with the efforts of her coach, federation and the wider system that had supported her before he met her.

He also pointed out that Janmoni had already made it to the Nationals twice when he was not involved.

‘Someone had to step up’

Pandey described his intervention as one person helping another at the right moment.

“If it hadn’t been me, it would have been someone else. Someone had to step up.”

He said he wanted to spend more of his time on social causes and work related to education, sports, hunger and livelihood.

His message was not only about Janmoni. Pandey urged people to look around them and help when they find someone who needs support.

Gold medal in Delhi, family still on the dyke

Janmoni returned to Jorhat on Sunday after her gold-medal performance in Delhi. But the victory did not immediately change the situation at home.

Her family was still living on the dyke after the floods submerged their house.

“Pandey sir was waiting for me at Dibrugarh airport,” Janmoni said.

The young karate champion therefore returned home with a gold medal, while her family continued to wait for a return to normal life.

Her story began with a flooded home and a makeshift shelter. It ended, at least for the moment, with Janmoni standing on a national championship podium in Delhi.

(Source: TOI)