By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Momochand Anal won the first gold medal for Meghalaya at the 9th National Open Taekwondo Championship which concluded at Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.
Meghalaya Teakwondo Association’s Momochand Anal won in the Junior Boys under-63 weight category of the championship which was organised by the Uttar Pradesh Taekwondo Association under the aegis of Taekwondo Federation of India (TFI) and recognized by the Ministry of Sports & Youth Affairs, Government of India and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). Earlier, Themrichan won a bronze medal for Meghalaya in the event in which all the states of the country participated.
It may be mentioned that this is the first time a player from Meghalaya Taekwondo Association won a Gold at the national level. In 2011, Meghalaya won a bronze medal each in the National Junior, National Sub-Junior and National Poomsae Taekwondo Championships held at Jharkhand, Goa and Guwahati respectively.
At the Regional Level, the state won one Gold, 1 Silver and 17 Bronze medals in the East Zone Taekwondo Championship 2010 held in Aizwal.
However, 2012 has been good for the state as Meghalaya won one Gold, one Silver and five Bronze medals in the XXVI North East Games held in Aizwal (Mizoram), unprecedented for Taekwondo even in the North East Games.