It was windfall for Odisha karatekas as they emerged team champions, bagging 143 medals out of a total of 221 in the 8th All India Open Karate Tournament, which was organised by Utkal Karate School at its own campus here from Sept 1 to 3, 2017. The medals included 32 gold, 34 silver and 77 bronze.

Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal finished second and third respectively. According to Utkal Karate School Secretary Hariprasad Pattanayak, a total of 1250 competitors and officials participated in 57 events of the three-day tournament, which was inaugurated by State Sports & Youth Services Department Secretary Vishal Dev.

Nalco CMD Dr Tapan Chand joined the closing ceremony as chief guest. Bhubaneswar MLAs Bijay Kumar Mohanty and Priyadarshi Mishra were present as guests.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHOTO: Karatekas, guests and organizing officials at the closing function of the 8th All India Open Karate Tournament in Bhubaneswar on Sept 3, 2017.