Jorhat boys to play for India

A Jorhat boy has been selected for the first time to compete in the World Championship in Tokyo being hosted by Japan Karate Association in October.

Ramanuj Bora, who is an expert in Shotokan Karate, has a number of gold medals under his belt, many of them won in national meets.

Ramanuj was selected after winning gold in both the kumite and kata events in the under-14 category in the East India Shoto championship held in Calcutta in last September.

“It was in this championship that he was noticed by Anand Ratna, India chief of Japan Karate Association, Mumbai,” said his father Bijoy Bora, who is also the chief of Japan Karate Association’s Jorhat branch.

Ramanuj, his elder brother Priyanuj and two others — Maithali Kolita of Majuli and Aryan Sharma from Jorhat district — have also been selected to compete in the National Championship organised by Karate Association of India at Talkatara indoor stadium in Delhi on May 30 and 31.

The United Karate Association Assam selected them along with others from the state after they competed in various weight and age categories in the state-level youth, veteran and under-21 karate championship held in Guwahati on March 22 and 23.

Students under this branch have won 16 gold medals since 2012 in various competitions held at the national level.

In the national championship held in Calcutta in 2012 the team from here won 12 medals. The next year, in Goa, they won 13 medals and in Mumbai in January 2014 they won 14 medals.

There are five major branches of karate practised in India. They are Shotokan, Shito Ryu, Goju Ryu, Wada Ryu and Shrinji-Ryu.

Ramanuj, who has been practising Shotokan karate under the Jorhat branch of Japan Karate Association, will proceed to Japan on October 4.

His father hopes that he will find sponsors to send his son to Japan and as chief of the Jorhat branch he is also in search of sponsors for the four who will be going to Delhi by this month-end.

“The ONGC and some other companies have assured that they will give us something otherwise it will be very difficult to send them,” he said.