A Streak of Gold Medals and a Shield for Itahari Karate Academy

Players from Itahari Karate Academy won ten gold medals in the Fourth Koshi Province Level Open Invitation Karate Tournament held in Dudhe of Shivasatakshi Municipality, Jhapa District. According to the organizing committee, the academy also secured nine silver medals and eleven bronze medals. In the same competition, Shilpa Shrestha of Itahari Karate Academy was awarded the Best Fighter title.

The gold medal winners included Angel Shrestha, Shilpa Shrestha, Samir Rai, Asharam Kamat, Austin Upreti, Prabin Chaudhary, Rein Thapa, Ashish Harijan, Nikesh Nepali, and Rahul Harijan.

Silver medal winners were Mandip Rasaili, Anushka Karki, Sushil Adhikari, Rehan Chaudhary, Sujan Karki, Yoshan Budhathoki, Amar Magarati, Khemraj Khatri, and Ansu Raut.

Those who secured bronze medals were Josab Rayamajhi, Dream Angel Ghale, Shivani Chaudhary, Sanskar Nayak, Manish Rai, Ramit Basnet, Rohit Sarkar, Ronak Agrawal, Aniket Sardar, Puja Karki, Joel Yadav, and Ashraya Luitel.

The karate championship was held on the 29th and 30th of Falgun in Shivasatakshi, Jhapa. According to academy coach and international trainer Sagar Raut, the players had been preparing for the competition for several years and all participating athletes managed to win at least one medal. Despite limited resources and facilities, the players of Itahari Karate Academy demonstrated excellent performance.

Coach Sagar Raut expressed confidence that if the players receive proper support from the Government of Nepal, the National Sports Council Nepal, and the local municipality, they could achieve even greater success. He believes that the athletes of Itahari Karate Academy will continue to perform better both nationally and internationally, bringing pride to Itahari, Koshi Province, and Nepal in the field of karate.

Earlier, on Mangsir 6 (Saturday), in the Second Mechinagar Open Karate Championship held in Mechinagar Municipality, Jhapa, the academy secured first place among participating teams by winning a total of 17 gold medals, 7 silver medals, and 16 bronze medals. Fourteen teams had participated in the Koshi Province–level tournament.

According to the organizers, Itahari Karate Academy won the highest number of gold medals and also claimed the championship shield.

International coach and national referee Sagar Raut, who has been providing karate training in Itahari since 2018 (2075 BS), said that through dedicated training and closed practice sessions, the academy has produced outstanding athletes. He added that despite various challenges and limited resources, the players have achieved remarkable results.

Gold medal winners in that competition included Ronak Agrawal, Rehan Chaudhary, Tashi Tamang, Samir Rai, Yoshan Budhathoki, Sudip Darji, Sushil Limbu, Arduj Mahaldar, Sanghang Limbu, Khemraj Khatri, Riyan Thapa, Austin Upreti, Abhay Kumar Shah, Barsha Subedi, Krish Pariyar, Angel Shrestha, Shilpa Shrestha, Anuja Chaudhary, and Arshu Khanal.The competitors participated in weight categories ranging from 20 kg to 60 kg.

Earlier this year, players from the academy also won seven gold medals in the Sixth South Asian International Open Karate Championship held in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The tournament featured participation from six countries: Japan, India, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal.