A 42-member Odisha squad, featuring 16 women and 26 men, bagged six medals in the 33rd Senior National Wushu Championship which was held at Maharana Pratap Stadium in Dehradun, Uttarakhand from 21 to 26 September 2024. The six medals included two gold, one silver and three bronze.
Babulu Munda, an international wushu athlete from Keonjhar, won one gold in mens 48kg sanda. Bhubaneswar sisters Payal Pattnaik and Nupur Pattnaik contributed three medals to the Odisha tally with Payal baging gold in taolu wingchun category and Nupur securing one silver and one bronze in taolu single weapon and nan style respectively.
Bikash Bag, who hails from Kalahandi district, claimed one bronze in mens taolu (Nan style), while Keonjhar girl Manju Munda, an international medallist, captured one bronze in 45kg sanda.
The Odisha squad was accompanied by two coaches (Pankaj Mahanta and Sujan Rath), two manager (Nabin Kumar Singh and Anusuya Barik) and four judges (Pradyumna Behera, Pruthwiraj Harichandan, Anuradha Dora and Tika Bahadur). Pradyumna Behera was the head judge of the championship.
The Department of Sports & Youth Services (DSYS), Government Odisha, provided all the support for the participation of the State squad. Wushu Association of Odisha chairman Sudhanshu Sekhar Harichandan, president Bishnu Mohanty Mohanty and general secretary Yuvraj Harichandan congratulated the medal winners and thanked the DSYS for its support.
ODISHA SQUAD:
MEN: Babulu Munda, Deepak Kumar Mohanta (both Keonjhar); Chitta Ranjan Mohanta, Arun Naik, Susanta Naik (all Angul); Sadasiv Oram, Devbrat Yadav, Niraj Kumar Sah, Abhisekh Maharana, Amit Kumar Sharma (all Sundargarh); Debasis Samantaray, Shakti Prasad Samal (both Cuttack); Kissan Majhi, Bikash Bag (both Kalahandi); Niranjan Maharana, Mayan Naik, Swayamjeet Kar, Shaubhagya Sharan (all Khurda); Subhranshu Sekhar Sethy (Sonepur), Ashis Kumar Pradhan, Padma Lochan Mohanta, Biram Tudu, Iswar Chandra Mohanta (all Mayurbhanj); Tunu Takri, Mithun Chakraborty (both Koraput); Alok Naik (Bolangir).
WOMEN: Manju Munda (Keonjhar), Rima Suna (Bolangir), Jyotsnarani Jena (Balasore), Sapna Biswal, Rosalin Biswal, Gayatri Sethi (all Puri), Madhumita Bagarti, Purabi Pusparekha, Kausika Routray, Arpita Pradhan (all Sonepur); Rinki Routray, Nupur Pattnaik, Payal Pattnaik (all Khurda); Sujata Sahoo, Riya Thakur (both Sundargarh); Tarulata Mohanta (Mayurbhanj).
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PHOTO: Odisha medal winners (L-R) Bakash Bagh, Nupur Pattanaik, Payal Pattnaik, Babulu Munda and Manju Munda pose at the 33rd Senior National Wushu Championship in Dehradun on 26 September 2024.