look news india
New Delhi, July 8 (HS). International Wushu players Ayra Chishti and Komal Nagar will be the center of attraction in the Northern Regional Round of Khelo India Women's Wushu League to be held at Netaji Subhash National Institute of Sports, Patiala from July 9 to 13.
A total of 350 athletes will participate in the North Regional Meet across sub-junior, junior and senior categories, covering both Sanda (fighting) and Taolu (form).
The event is open to wushu players from Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Himachal, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The North Zonal competition will follow the South Zonal competition held in Karnataka last month. After the four regional competitions, the National Ranking Championships will be held.
The Sports Department of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports funds the competition organised by the Wushu Federation of India with a prize money of Rs 7.2 lakh.
The top eight wushu athletes from the sub-junior, junior and senior events will receive cash incentives.
The Women's Wushu League will provide opportunities to many athletes who want to achieve big things like international medallists Ayra (18) and Komal (19), who train at the NSNIS Patiala centre.
“I am very excited to play in my third Khelo India Women’s Wushu League on my home ground, having won gold medals in the last two championships,” said Ayra, who will make her debut in the event in 2022.
Ayra from Jammu and Kashmir, who will compete in the senior 52kg sanda category, won a bronze medal at the Junior Wushu World Championships in Indonesia in 2022. She won a gold medal at the International Wushu Championships in Georgia in 2022 and at the Russian Moscow Stars Wushu International Championships in 2024.
Ayra said, “Khelo India Women’s League is very important for a lot of girls, especially looking at the future and I am thankful to the government for this. As for me, I want to win a gold medal at the Asian Games in the 52kg category and become the first woman to achieve this feat for India in this weight category. Before that, I am aiming to win a gold medal at the Senior Asian Championships to be held in China in September this year.”
“Getting the opportunity to play another tournament in the calendar year apart from the nationals has boosted our confidence,” said Chandigarh’s Komal, who won a gold medal at the Russian Moscow Stars Wushu International Championship 2023 in Sanda.
“Khelo India Women’s League provides us with a good platform to assess our performances, understand the flaws in our game and the areas to work upon,” said Komal from Chandigarh.