Atul Pangotra shines; bags 5th place in Asian Taekwondo C’ship

Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, May 16: Ace International fighter from J&K, Atul Pangotra, a qualified coach from National Institute of Sports (NIS) Patiala, and an employee of the Department of Youth Services and Sports, has brought laurels to the State by securing 5th place in the Asian Taekwondo Championship held at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam recently.
Over 30 countries drawn from all over Asia participated in the Championship, which was held from May 1 to May 10.
Atul played in ‘Poomsae’ Imaginary Fighting Techniques event of Taekwando and got 5th position in the pair event and 7th in the individual event, which is the highest achievement of any Indian player at this level. Prior to this championship, Atul along with the other members of Indian team was trained in SAI Coaching Centre Bhopal under the guidance of Master Jeonghee Lee of Korea and Prem Kumar of Army.
It may be recalled that Atul is WTF International referee in Taekwondo Kyorugi and International coach of World Taekwondo Federation (WTF). He has the distinction of being National Champion of Taekwondo Poomsae from 2008 and has won many medals in national events. He has also the honour of winning bronze medal in Commonwealth Taekwondo Championship, besides representing India inWorld Taekwondo Championship.
Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Taekwondo Association and Taekwondo Federation of India have congratulated Atul for this landmark achievement and appreciated the concerned authorities including Sports Ministry, Directorate of YS & Sports and Sports Council for promotion and upliftment of this versatile sportsman.