Punjab karate players shine at nationals

Eight karate players from the Punjab branch of the Okinawan Goju Ryu Karate Federation of India (OGKFI) brought glory to the state by winning gold medals in the Kumite category at the Second Goju Ryu National Karate Championship held recently in Sultanpur Lodhi. The championship was organised under the aegis of the Punjab Goju Ryu Karate Federation.

The Punjab contingent participated under the leadership of World Karate Federation referee ‘Shihan’ Jagmohan Vij and delivered an outstanding performance. Gold medal winners in the Kumite category included Nayra Verma, Dhairya Kalia, Aarush Sharma, Aarti Kumari and Aaditya Bakshi. In addition, Aryansh Chaitanya Juneja, Kritesh Arora, Ryan Barhpagga and Nayra Verma earned silver medals in different matches. Akshita Sharma secured two bronze medals—one each in the individual Kata and Kumite events.

Notably, Aryansh Chaitanya Juneja and Nayra Verma, both training at Jagmohan’s Institute of Traditional Karate (JITK), made a remarkable debut at the national level. Aryansh won a silver and a bronze, while Nayra claimed a gold and a silver in her first-ever championship appearance, capturing widespread attention for their performances.

The three-day championship was organised under the chairmanship of Dr Sukhdev Singh Judge, Managing Director of Akaal Galaxy Group and internationally renowned karate coach ‘Shihan’ Gurpreet Singh Sethi (Rozy).

The national-level event witnessed participation from approximately 435 athletes representing various states and union territories, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Punjab, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.