New Delhi, Aug 16 (IANS): Kashmiri athlete Danish Manzoor is on cloud nine as he cannot believe that his dream to represent India in an international taekwondo event has come true.

Having just landed in Ramla, an ancient Israeli city that is hosting an Olympic-ranking taekwondo event, Danish is truly grateful that his plea for sponsorship through social media platform Koo has materialised, with support pouring in from the non-profit organisation, Help Foundation.

Danish was yearning to represent India in the 58kg category but was falling short of money to cover his travel and accommodation expenses.

On July 23, he had shared his concern with IANS and also Kooed for financial support, using the platform's unique translation feature Multi-lingual Koo (MLK) to reach people across India.

The Kashmiri athlete's message reached the J&K based NGO, Help Foundation.

Expressing his gratitude, Danish has now Kooed, "I am very grateful to @koosportshindi & @KooOfficial, through which I have gotten support from the J&K-based @help_foundation to represent India in an Olympic-ranking Taekwondo event, and my coach, @atul_pangotra sir, for all the guidance. I just landed in Israel, and I will do my best to make our country proud. Please keep supporting. Jai Hind."

A resident of Baramulla in Kashmir, Danish started practicing taekwondo from home during the Covid-19 lockdown. In the 2021 Tokey Memorial Open Taekwondo Championship, he was adjudged 'Best Male Athlete', and clinched the silver medal.

Danish, who has over 1.22 lakh followers on the platform, actively expresses himself on sports and related topics.

In today's digital era, social media is known to play a critical role in galvanizing support not only during an hour of crisis, but also connecting people who need monetary assistance with potential benefactors.