Balancing books and bouts: Ludhiana teacher strikes gold at Indo-Nepal taekwondo meet

She also won a gold medal at the 2023 state taekwondo championship in Jalandhar, a silver at the Haryana State Taekwondo Championship in Ambala, and a bronze at a Panjab University inter-college taekwondo championship, alongside medals at the 2024 state-level kickboxing championships

Juggling competitive sports with academic preparation for the UGC NET examination and her professional duties as a college faculty member, 24-year-old Lovely Kapoor has added another feather to her cap by winning a gold medal at the Indo-Nepal Taekwondo Championship held in Chandigarh on October 10 and 11.

Lovely Kapoor (HT)

A faculty member at Khalsa College for Women, Kapoor’s latest triumph builds upon an eight-year sporting journey. She also secured a bronze medal in the Taolu event in wushu at the recent state-level Khedan Watan Punjab Diyan games held in Gurdaspur.

An alumna of Khalsa College for Women and Khalsa School, Kapoor has represented her institution across multiple disciplines, including taekwondo, karate, and boxing.

Her sporting pursuits began out of a desire to learn self-defence after watching children engage in various physical activities. Encouraged by her coach, Narinder Sharma, she pursued the sport seriously, with the recent event marking her third international competition following appearances at the fourth Indo-Nepal championship in Chandigarh and the ninth International Championship in Jaipur in 2021.

Kapoor said she practises after college hours, wrapping up late at night before sitting down to study for the UGC NET examination.

“My coaches, my head of the department, and my parents have an extremely important role in whatever I am doing right now. I practise after college hours and get free at night, after which I have to study for my UGC NET,” she said.