By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Aug 16: The All Meghalaya Karate-Do Association (AMKA) has announced that four of its karatekas will take part in the prestigious Thailand Open Karate-Do Championship in Phuket from August 19.
The four – Ferdinand S Rani, Gregorwilson Makdoh, Saralin Rynghang and Damanbha Pde – have already won medals at state, regional and national level tournaments. They will depart for New Delhi on August 18 where they will join the rest of the Indian contingent and then leave for Thailand the following day.
The kumite (bouts) and kata (form and movement demonstration) will commence on August 20, with the tournament scheduled to conclude on August 23.
Last month, Pde had won a silver medal and Rynghang a bronze at the All India Karate Championship in Chhattisgarh. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Makdoh and Rani had won gold and bronze medals respectively at the Kanninjuku National Shoto Cup Karate Championship in Maharashtra.
“The association wants to give international exposure to our young karatekas because for two years they were not able to take part,” AMKA president Hunlang Lytan said at a recent send-off function.
“These youngsters have taken part in national tournaments but there is a big difference between these and international competitions,” he added while thanking the parents for supporting the youngsters on their journey.
“The Thailand Open is a big tournament that attracts many top karatekas from around the world. The last time there were karatekas who then competed in last year’s Olympic Games, so this is a golden chance for our youngsters,” AMKA general secretary Ksan Kupar Warjri said.