Arunachal Pradesh karatekas have brought home medals from the 12th Commonwealth Karate Championship in Glasgow, Scotland, with gold in the senior men’s team kata and bronze in the senior women’s individual kata.
Abab Sangdo anchored the Indian men’s team kata side to gold alongside Khyoda Talik, Khya Tai Bengde and captain Aniket Gupta. The win came on the opening day of the championship and added another major achievement to India’s international karate record.
A second Commonwealth medal for Sangdo
For Sangdo, the Glasgow gold marks a second consecutive successful appearance at the Commonwealth Karate Championship. At the previous edition, he delivered an outstanding performance by securing four medals, including two gold, one silver and one bronze.
Khya Tai Bengde, son of Kajop Bengde, also struck gold as part of the team kata event, while Khyoda Talik’s gold drew praise from Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein. Three athletes from Arunachal Pradesh joined the Indian contingent at the Glasgow games.
Mesom Singhi adds another bronze
Mesom Singhi of Atangrang village in East Kameng district won the bronze medal in the senior female individual kata category. Singhi, a third-dan black belt holder, is among the most accomplished female karatekas from Arunachal Pradesh, with more than 26 medals at regional, national and international levels.
Her medal cabinet already includes gold at the 9th Commonwealth Karate Championship in Durban and bronze at the 10th edition in Birmingham, along with gold in the women’s kata at the South Asian Karate Championship in Colombo. She also won gold in the senior female individual kata at the national karate championship in New Delhi, her second successive gold at that event.
Six young Arunachal athletes were recently picked for the Army Sports Institute after a talent camp in Tawang, and the Winter Adventure Tawang initiative is building a winter sports ecosystem in the state. The Glasgow medals show that Arunachal’s sporting talent is now winning honours on the world stage.
#Karate #CommonwealthKarate #MesomSinghi #AbabSangdo #Glasgow #ArunachalPradesh #Sports
