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Taekwondo in India

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Taekwondo in India
Governing bodyTaekwondo Federation of India
First played2000
International competitions

Taekwondo is one of the most popular and practiced martial arts in India.[1][2][3] It is characterized by punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, jumping spinning kicks, and fast kicking techniques. The literal translation for tae kwon do is "kicking", "punching", and "the art or way of".[4]

History

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Main article: Taekwondo Federation of India

Master Puran Andrew Gurung introduced taekwondo to India after returning from Hong Kong to India. He studied taekwondo under Korean Great Grand Master Lee Pyung Pal from 1969 to 1974. Since 1974 he has been promoting Taekwondo after earning his 2nd Dan under Great Grand Master Lee Pyung Pal. He initially started taekwondo classes in Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Sikkim. Later he expanded his trainings to Kolkata, southern, northeast and northern parts of India. He traveled frequently to every part of India until 1984.[5] He has been conferred the title of "Father of Taekwondo in India" by official taekwondo hall of fame USA.

Taekwondo introduced to India around 1975 and one of earliest taekwondo instructors in India was Jimmy R. Jagtiani, 8th Dan Black Belt in Taekwondo who began teaching in 1975.[6] On 2 August 1976 the Taekwondo Federation of India (TFI) was formed and established as a National Body of Taekwondo in India.[7]

The World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) accorded affiliation to the Taekwondo Federation of India in 1978, the Asian Taekwondo Union (ATU) in 1982, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in 1985 and the South Asian Taekwondo Federation (SATF) in 1994 respectively. The Department of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India also granted recognition to Taekwondo Federation of India as an apex judicial and autonomous national body of taekwondo in India in 1988.

Grand Master Kiranpal, an international referee, has been working for Indian taekwondo since 1988, when for the first time, taekwondo was demonstrated at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Atul Pangotra is also an international referee and coach who started his sports journey in 1988. At the 2020 Summer Paralympics, he qualified in the top 50 officials.[8] While, Sarbjeet Singh is the first ever referee from India to officiate in the 2018 World Taekwondo Grand Prix Series and also qualified among top 50 Officials for 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.[9]

Notable players

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Aruna Singh Tanwar

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Aruna Tanwar is an Indian Para Taekwondo athlete and two time Olympian from Haryana. She is currently ranked World No.4 in the W-49 kg | K43 | and World No. 30 in the W-49 kg | K44 event category of World Para Taekwondo Events.[10][11] She qualified to represent India at the 2024 Summer Paralympics at Paris, her second Olympics.[12]

Latika Bhandari

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Latika Bhandari is an Indian taekwondo practitioner. As of June 2021, she is the top-ranked female taekwondo practitioner in India. She became the first Indian to enter the top 20 world rankings, reaching 19th in 2018. She was awarded by the Madhya Pradesh Highest Sports award Vikram Award in 2012. She won a bronze medal at the Asian Championship and is the only Indian to secure medals in all major events like the Asian Championship, Commonwealth Championship, and President’s Cup and south asian games. She has participated in the Asian Games three times (2010, 2014, 2018), reaching the quarter-finals twice, and competed in the World Championship four times (2011-2023), showcasing her resilience. she has made history as the first Indian to win a medal at ranking tournaments, starting with the 2016 Israel Open. She has also earned medals in the Fujairah Open, Malaysia open, fajr cup and President’s cup.[13][14][15]

Surendra Bhandari

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Surendra Bhandari won India's first medal in Taekwondo by clinching a bronze in the flyweight (58-kg) category in the 14th Asian Games.[16][17]

Rodali Barua

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Rodali usually represents the country in the +73 kg weight category and had brought various laurels to the country. She had represented India in the World Taekwondo Championships in Korea in June 2017 and won gold at the 35th National Senior Kyorugi and 8th National Senior Pumche Taekwondo Championships held in Visakhapatnam.[18]   Represented India in Asian Games 2018 [19][20]

Atul Raghav

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Atul Raghav[21] is a renowned Taekwondoin based out of Ghaziabad and has represented India at various national and international events. Atul's brightest moment under the sun though came in the year 2020 when he bagged a bronze medal in the 2020 G-2 Fujairah Dubai. He is also a national referee and a sports management professional working to improve the sports conditions in India.[22] In 2021, he was appointed as the brand ambassador of Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation. In January 2025, he was appointed as the delegate of Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue[23] where he pitched the vision of Making India a Fit and Sporting Nation by 2047 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, top Ministry officials at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. [24][25][26]

Kashish Malik

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Kashish represented India in the 2018 Asian Games where she crashed out in the quarterfinals. She has bagged medals at various international events like, Malaysia Open G1 Tournament, Asian Games Invitation Tournament, President Cup, Fujairah Open 2018 and Israel Open 2018.[27][28]

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Navjeet Mann is a Taekwondoin based out of Bangalore and has represented India at various international events including the Asian Games 2018, World Championships 2017 and Asian Championship in the year 2016 and 2018. Navjeet’s brightest moment under the sun though came in the year 2016 when he bagged a gold medal in the 2016 South Asian Games.[29][30]

Aman Kumar Kadyan

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Aman Kumar Kadyan is a Taekwondoin based out of Haryana and has represented India at various national and international events. He competes in -54 kg and currently holds -18 Rank in the world.[31]

Santosh Basnet

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Santosh Basnet is a renowned Taekwondo coach from India, recognized for his pioneering contributions to the sport, particularly in the Marathwada region. A World Taekwondo Level-2 Certified International Coach, he is celebrated as the first international Taekwondo coach from Marathwada and for introducing the sport in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Chony Basnet

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Chony Basnet is an Indian-Nepali Taekwondo instructor. He is the founder of Big Star Taekwondo Academy, known for promoting Taekwondo and developing athletes at both national and international levels.

Tournament record

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Competition  Gold  Silver  Bronze Total
Asian Games 0 0 1 1
Total 0 0 1 1
  • updated till 2023

References

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  1. ^ "Taekwondo rapidly gaining popularity in India". Business Standard. 26 November 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Sport gaining popularity in the country". The Hindu. 20 August 2002. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  3. ^ "Getting a kick from Taekwondo". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  4. ^ "taekwondo - Wiktionary". En.wiktionary.org. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Lacancha.com". Lacancha.com. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  6. ^ "Grand master Jimmy for training of tae kwon do in schools". Tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  7. ^ "Taekwondo Federation of India's suspension revoked". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  8. ^ Ali, Yaqoob (20 April 2021). "Pangotra appointed referee for Tokyo Paralympics". Rising Kashmir. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Master Sarbjeet Singh qualified as Referee in Moscow 2018 World Taekwondo Grand Prix". The Chenab Times. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  10. ^ "Tournaments Record". World Taekwondo.
  11. ^ "Individual winners by category World Para Taekwondo Championships 2019" (PDF). World Taekwondo.
  12. ^ "Lko athlete qualifies for Paralympics". The Times of India. 18 March 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  13. ^ ""Latika Bhandari was awarded by the Madhya Pradesh Highest Sports award Vikram Award in 2012"". Amanzee Newsbeat.
  14. ^ "Latika Bhandari top-ranked female taekwondo player in India". Amanzee News.
  15. ^ "Who are India's top Taekwondo players?". 13 November 2020.
  16. ^ "Surendra Bhandari". Amanzee News.
  17. ^ "Surendra Bhandari won India's first medal in taekwondo in the 14th Asian Games".
  18. ^ "Olympic or Asian Games".
  19. ^ "Rodali representing India in Asian Games". Amanzee Newsbeat.
  20. ^ "Rodali Barua".
  21. ^ Shukla, Aditi (17 January 2025). "देश के लिए मेडल ला चुके हैं ताइक्वांडो प्लेयर अतुल राघव, आज प्लेयर्स और खेल सुविधाओं के विकास के लिए करते हैं काम". News18.
  22. ^ Kumar, Raju (11 October 2022). "Meet Atul Raghav - international Taekwondo player who is working to develop sports in Ghaziabad". India Tv.
  23. ^ "'विकसित भारत यंग लीडर डायलॉग', यूपी का प्रतिनिधित्व करेगा जामिया का छात्र". News Nation. 7 January 2025.
  24. ^ "Exclusive: Taekwondo athlete Atul Raghav speaks out on the condition of his sport in India".
  25. ^ "Atul Raghav appointed as new brand ambassador of Ghaziabad Municipal corporation".
  26. ^ @AMRUTCityGzb (24 November 2021). "स्वच्छ भारत मिशन के ब्रांड एंबेसडर श्री अतुल राघव जी ने समस्त गाजियाबाद वासियों को स्वच्छ सर्वेक्षण 2021 में भारत…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  27. ^ "Kashis Malik". News Amanzee.
  28. ^ "Kashis Malik 2018 Asian Games". News Amanzee.
  29. ^ "Navjeet Mann represented India in Asian Games". Amanzee News.
  30. ^ "Navjeet Mann".
  31. ^ "Taekwondo: Aman Kumar Kadyan wins bronze in 2021 Russian Open".
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