Arunachal Pradesh Shines at 7th National Open Taekwondo Championship with 5 Medals

ITANAGAR: In the 7th National Open Taekwondo Championship 2025, participants from Arunachal Pradesh brought glory to the state by bringing home three gold, one silver and one bronze medal. The championship was held from January 16 to 20 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

Badal Das won a gold medal in individual poomsae in the senior male category while Dorik Gamoh, Marpi Basar and Ampo Apum won a gold medal in group poomsae in the senior female category.

Another gold medal was won by Badal and Dorik in the senior mixed pair poosae.

A silver medal and a bronze medal was won by Dorik and Marpi, respectively, in the senior female individual poomsae.

It was recently reported that Rupa Bayor, a 23-year-old Taekwondo athlete from Arunachal Pradesh, made history by becoming the first Indian to secure a spot in the top 10 of the World Poomsae Rankings.

In October 2022, she achieved this significant milestone, marking a historic moment for Indian Taekwondo.

Bayor's journey includes a gold medal at the national team trials for the 8th Asian Taekwondo Championships in 2022, where she won India’s first-ever medal in the competition.

Speaking about her journey recently, she acknowledged the role of her coaches, family, and the financial support from Welspun, and urged for the need for greater government backing to help the sport flourish in India.

Introduced to Taekwondo in 2015 by her uncle, a karate master, Bayor gradually found her calling in the sport despite its initial lack of popularity compared to Karate. Since turning professional in 2021, she has achieved remarkable success, including a silver medal at the Asian Open in Indonesia.

However, she highlighted the challenges faced by Indian Taekwondo athletes, such as limited funding and minimal government support.

Bayor hopes for increased attention, sponsorships, and support to propel the sport forward as an Olympic discipline, with aspirations for major tournaments in 2026, including the Asian Championships, World Championships, and Asian Games.

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