20 under 20: Meet Mahmudul Hasan Faisal, the boy with 11 Guinness World records to his name

Mahmudul Hasan Faisal is a name that many might have heard of. After all, the 19-year-old football freestyler has 11 Guinness World records to his name and is working on many more. 

What makes his journey unique is how it all started as he was initially a very good cricket player and had aspirations of becoming a professional cricketer.

"I was always interested in sports since I was a kid. I used to practice at the Magura Stadium. Like Shakib Al Hasan, I had dreams of becoming the best cricketer in the world but my family never wanted to see me as a player; they have always wanted me to become an engineer. 

I am a three-time district champion in the 'Prime Bank National School Cricket Tournament' for Magura Technical School," Faisal tells The Business Standard. 

However, his family did not see it best for him to continue his aspirations as a cricketer and instead wanted him to focus on his education.

"I tried my best to continue cricket but being from a middle-class family brings many obstacles. So my family told me to leave cricket and focus on my SSC. With the option of becoming a professional cricketer not there anymore, I took to doing freestyle football tricks in 2017," he adds.

Faisal though has people that inspire him in his family and want him to achieve his current goals of making more world records through freestyling. 

"I've always been inspired by my grandparents because they have always been supportive of whatever I did and motivated me. My name has been given by my grandmother. She passed away a few days ago and I miss her so much," he reveals.

Without cricket, it was all about focusing on making world records and Faisal started to find out more information about the world records online and started practising by watching videos on YouTube.

"The prime motive was to have my name in The Guinness Book of World Records and become the best in the world. I learned more about it online and then started practising some specific records. I watched several videos on YouTube to get a better idea of things," Faisal says.

Despite the world records, Faisal feels he's not a natural at freestyling and he has a lot left to learn, but he's working hard to get to the level he wants to be: "I don't think I'm a natural talent at freestyling but I am trying to get better through practice. I have always had to practice hard to achieve my goals."

He has more records in his mind but he doesn't want to reveal anything until he gets it: "I am working on several records and hope I can achieve something that is truly incredible."