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Pune hosts national level taekwondo championship, while federations split
The tournament was open for all age groups regardless of belts held by the fighters. There were different weight and belt categories, but participants from various age groups ranging from six- to fifty-years of age, were on the mats during the two-day event
Pune hosting 600 ‘fighters’ from across the country and across age groups should be cause celebre for the city’s emergence as a major destination for sports’ events. However, given that the fighters are all exponents of taekwondo, might explain the lack of popular mass appeal.
The 2018 Taekwondo open championship is Pune’s first national-level taekwondo competition and took place on October 19-20 at the Balewadi sports complex.
Subhash Patil, tournament organiser and former Indian team coach, says, “If you look at the number of taekwondo players in India, you’ll find that a majority of them are from Pune. There’s a grandmaster living here and he wanted to promote the sport in the city, so we decided to conduct a tournament, inviting people from different states of the country.”
The tournament was open for all age groups regardless of belts held by the fighters. There were different weight and belt categories, but participants from various age groups ranging from six- to fifty-years of age, were on the mats during the two-day event.
Patil says: “The younger you start the better for you in the future. All medallists at the Olympics have started taekwondo at a very early age. I have been to Korea and have noticed the importance they give to this sport and how they inculcate its values at a very young age.”
Kabir Bhakta, who won the under-63 kg final 14-6, beating Atish Ghosh, says: “Pune is the best place for taekwondo. Pune teams have won a lot of plaudits and medals. I think these competitions help us compete against the best players in the country and we can improve our game as everyone has different fighting styles.”
Anushiya Priyadarshini, an Asian youth games medallist from Tamil Nadu who won the women’s under-63 kg event, says she was surprised by the level of fighters here and drew comparisons with athletes back in here state. She said, “I think what’s different here in Maharashtra and especially in Pune as that the players are more serious and train regularly. The level of coaching is very good as well. I’m impressed by the performances of the cadets and sub-juniors this year.”
