Eight competitors from Odisha bagged a total of eight medals in the 8th Cadet, Junior, U-21 & Senior South Asian Karate Championship, which was held at RIM Auditorium in Thimpu, Bhutan on 19 and 20 July 2024. The eight medals included three gold, two silver and three bronze.

India secured second position in the medal tally, garnering a total of 60 medals, which featured 27 gold, 20 silver and 13 bronze. Nepal topped the tally with 31 gold, 20 silver and 11 bronze for a total of 62 medals.

Among the Odisha medal winners, Anshuman Acharya, Alisha Subudhi and Loma Swain claimed one gold each, while Valena Valentina and Subhakanta Biswal secured one silver apiece. Woman star karateka Valena also pocketed one bronze along with Suromita Sinha.

The other two bronze medals for Odisha were pocketed by Omm Subham Mohanty and Anupama Swain. Odisha State Karate-do Association president Hari Prasad Pattanayak and secretary Gouri Mohanty congratulated all the medalists and thanked the State Sports & Youth Services Department for bearing all expenses of the Odisha squad.

ODISHA MEDAL WINNERS:

Gold: Anshuman Acharya, Male cadet individual kumite -70kg
Gold: Alisha Subudhi, Cadet female individual kata
Gold: Loma Swain, Senior female individual kumite -50kg
Silver: Valena Valentina, Senior female individual kata
Silver: Subhakanta Biswal, U-21 male individual kumite +84kg
Bronze: Omm Subham Mohanty, Junior male individual kumite -68kg
Bronze: Anupama Swain, Senior female individual kumite -55kg
Bronze: Valena Valentina, Suromita Sinha, Senior female team kata
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PHOTO: Odisha medal winners (L-R) Alisha Subudhi, Anupama Swain, Anshuman Acharya, Omm Subham Mohanty, Valena Valentina, Subhakanta Biswal, Loma Swain and Suromita Singh pose with Karate India Organisation president Bharat Sharma in Thimpu on 19 July 2024.