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Taekwondo in India

History of 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 serving in Brigade of Gurkhas he returned to India to teach and promote Taekwondo. During his tenure as a Gurkha solder in Hong Kong he studied Taekwondo under Korean 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 Gangtok, Sikkim with other Taekwondo instructor Daniel Russ Gurung. 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. There are many other original Taekwondo instuctors who has contributed to promote and develope today's Taekwondo in India, and their contribution and effort should not be forgotton.

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]

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.[13][14]

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.[15]

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. ^ "Kashis Malik". News Amanzee.
  14. ^ "Kashis Malik 2018 Asian Games". News Amanzee.
  15. ^ "Taekwondo: Aman Kumar Kadyan wins bronze in 2021 Russian Open".