West Bengal State Kyokushin Karate Championship: Clubs from state confirm participation

Kolkata (West Bengal)[India], December 15 (ANI): Clubs from all across the state, from Alipurduar in the north to Thakurpukur in the southern fringes of Kolkata, have confirmed participation in the first-ever West Bengal State Full Contact Karate Championship 2023, scheduled between December 16-17, 2023 at the city's Kishore Bharati Krirangan.
Mike's Martial Arts, a participating club as well as the hosts and organisers, also released the fixtures for the championship, which will see under-14 category bouts on day one Saturday, while all above age-group categories including adult category bouts taking place on Sunday.
The Championship is being supported by the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, the Government of West Bengal and the FIT India Movement.
Some prominent Kyokushin (full contact Karate style of stand-up fighting originating in Japan) Karate clubs whose Karatekas will descend at the Kishore Bharati over the weekend include Bankura Martial Arts Club, Karate & Fitness Academy, Birubhum, Kyokushin Kan India, Raniganj, TPG Public School of Kumite, Kalyani, Masutatsu Oyama Karate Organization, North 24 Parganas, Mas Oyama Karate-Do Academy, Purba Bardhaman, Kyokushin IOK Sonoda, Panihati as well as teams from Kharagpur and Alipurduar.
Besides the hosts Mike's Martial Arts, five other clubs from Kolkata including Mukundapur Karate Academy, Northern Park and Full Contact Martial Arts Academy have also confirmed participation. The two days will see close to 200 Karatekas, including black belts in the adult categories, compete in the 48-event categories. Prizes will include glittering trophies to the first four in every category.
Among prominent competitors who will be seen in action at the KBK will be Rishika Banerjee (Female), Sneha Samanta (Female), Babu Biswas Akash Sarkar, Debapriya Mondal, Suman Das, Akshay Mondal, Akhilesh Modak, Kaushik Mandal, Aparajita Banerjee (Female), Jemari Munda (Female) and Swaralipi Chatterjee (Female) who is a junior black belt but good. All these black belts will be fighting and competing in various categories including a "black belts only" kata event.
A total of more than 100 bouts in the age groups from 6+ to 14 years will be fought on Saturday, December 16. Another approximately 100 bouts will be fought in the 14+ to adult categories. There are a total of 48 event categories in all. (ANI)