Meet Afghanistan's Bruce Lee, 'Bruce Hazara'!

NEW DELHI: Meet Abbas Alizada. A young man in Afghanistan who shot to internet fame recently after posts that displayed his striking resemblance to martial arts legend Bruce Lee went viral. "I want to be a champion in my country and a Hollywood star," Alizada told Reuters, in a statement echoing ambitions in contrast with the reality of the war-torn country. Alizada means it. He trains twice a week at Kabul's desolate Darulaman palace. "The destruction here makes me sad, but it also inspires me," he said.

Here is the picture that propelled him to internet stardom:

Bruce Lee was Alizada’s inspiration. He got hooked to Lee’s films when he was 14, channeling his moves with a determination to learn the sport. Whilst his new found fame has helped Alizada, money is still in short supply. The twenty year old is from a poor family of 10 children. His parents could not afford the fees at a Chinese-run marital arts centre in Kabul, but a trainer took the wiry young man under his wing.

(Image sourced from BBC News)

The young man has been dubbed “Bruce Hazara” by fans, a name that he rejects because it plays up his Hazara ethnic identity in a country divided along ethnic lines. He says he prefers being known as Afghanistan’s Bruce Lee.

(Image sourced from BBC News)

(Image sourced from BBC News)

Afghanistan is a nation wracked by conflict. The day ‘The Citizen’ ran this story, suicide bombers had targeted a French-run high school and a bus carrying army personnel in Kabul. "The only news that comes from Afghanistan is about war ... I am happy that my story is a positive one," Alizada told Reuters.

(Alizada poses in front of Bruce Lee posters. Image sourced from Reuters)

(Alizada poses for the media in Kabul. Image sourced from Reuters)