Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, March 18: Eight karatekas of Utkal Karate School (UKS) will take part in the World Shukokai Karate Championships at Osaka, Japan, March 20-27. The team will depart from the city, Saturday.
The eight-member team will train under Shukokai Karate Grandmaster Hansi Hariyoshi Yamada during the world meet. They will also take part in a seminar before returning to India, March 30. National Sukokai Union secretary Hariprasad Patnaik wished all the participants good luck in a press conference at the UKS here Friday.
“It’s a different kind of karate competition which will be played under Shukokai skills. So it will be a maiden experience for the competitors. As the participants are very enthusiastic, they have decided to bear all the expenses themselves,” Patnaik stated here Friday.
“We are not worried about the results at all. But we will definitely give our best. Most of our participants are in the Masters category. We have the chance to win a few medals if we perform according to our potential,” he added.
All the participants seemed upbeat about their medal chances in the event. “We will get a tough challenge from around 200 countries across the globe. But we are well prepared and hope to win a few medals and bring glory for our country,” said Rajiv Singh, a participant.
The squad: Sandip Mohanty, Jaydev Patnaik, Rajiv Singh, Umakanta Senapati, Debabrata Samaddar, Kushal Hitesh Bhatt, Aswin Kumar Behera and Subrat Das.
