NOWSHERA, Sep 23: The Rajouri District Taekwondo Championship 2026–27 concluded successfully at Christ School, Nowshera, with around 100 young athletes participating across Kids, Sub-Junior, Cadet and Junior categories for both boys and girls.
The championship was organised by the Rajouri District Taekwondo Association, affiliated with the Taekwondo Association of Jammu & Kashmir (TAJK), under the banner of India Taekwondo.
The programme began with a welcome address by Gourav Prashar, Secretary, Rajouri District Taekwondo Association, who expressed gratitude to the chief guest, dignitaries, technical officials, players and coaches for their participation and support.
The event was graced by Nitin Hangloo, State Director, My Bharat Kendra, as the Chief Guest, while Akhil Arya, District Youth Officer, My Bharat Kendra Rajouri-Poonch, was the Guest of Honour. Dr. Nitan Sharma, Professor, SMDU; Dr. Vikrant Sharma, State Resource Person, My Bharat; Shakti Sharma, Senior Journalist; Gourav Prashar; and Ritesh Choudhary, Activist, were also present as special guests.
Addressing the gathering, Nitin Hangloo appreciated the organisers for providing young athletes with a platform to showcase their talent. He highlighted the role of sports in developing confidence, discipline, leadership and a healthy lifestyle, and encouraged youngsters to make sports an integral part of their lives.
Rajinder Singh, National Referee, India Taekwondo and Technical Director of the championship, congratulated the participating athletes, coaches, officials and organisers. He stressed the importance of providing young players with quality competitive opportunities and ensuring fair and technically sound officiating.
Speaking to the young athletes, Singh also emphasised the role of sports in preventing drug and substance abuse. He encouraged the participants to spread the message “Say No to Drugs, Yes to Sports” and become positive role models in their communities.
He said Taekwondo was not limited to winning medals but also helped develop discipline, self-control, respect, confidence and responsibility. He urged the players to give equal importance to sports, education and a healthy lifestyle.
The technical conduct of the championship was supervised by Rajinder Singh, with the technical team comprising Akarshit Sudan, Toseef Tahir and Vishnu Raina, National Referees, India Taekwondo; and Qasim Hussain and Gurpreet Singh, State Referees, TAJK.
At the conclusion of the championship, the chief guest and other dignitaries distributed medals and trophies among the successful players and technical officials.
Keshav Singh and Vanya Heer were adjudged the Best Players in the Boys’ and Girls’ Sub-Junior categories, respectively, for their performances during the championship.
Among those present were Arun Kumar, Riya Kapoor, Farhat Jabeen and Sahil Choudhary, all National Youth Volunteers associated with My Bharat.
The championship provided young Taekwondo players from Rajouri with an opportunity to demonstrate their skills, competitive spirit and discipline while promoting sports participation, healthy youth engagement and the message of a drug-free society.