HAPKIDO, a combination of different martial arts such as Taekwon-do, Karate and Judo, has been included in School Games Federation of India which will be holding competitions from coming season.

Informing about the inclusion of the sport in SGFI calendar, Dr Zakir Khan, President of Maharashtra Pradesh Hapkido Association (MPHA) said that the organisation has started giving affiliation to district units in the State. Emmanuel Philip is the Secretary of MPHA.

“Maharashtra Pradesh Hapkido Association (MPHA) has already given membership to several districts like Nagpur, Wardha, Jalgoan, Aurangabad, Buldhana, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, Washim, Nashik and Mumbai,” said Khan.

“Hapkido is a hybrid sport that is a combination of different Martial Arts such as Taekwon-do, Karate and Judo. Hapkido sport is a brainchild of Grandmaster Ji-Han-Jae. It is popular worldwide especially in UAE, Iran, Korea, Spain, Australia and is gaining popularity in India,” informed Khan.

President Hanshi Khan is a gold medalist in the World Cup of Martial Art and is a very able administrator. He has taken karate to new heights and has produced several State, National as well as champions.

Khan said that Maharashtra Pradesh Hapkido Association is affiliated with Hapkido Federation of India and is recognised by the World Hapkido Confederation that is affiliated to TAFISA which is further recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The association has also invited other districts of Maharashtra to avail the membership.

Under the able leadership of Hanshi Dr Zakir Khan, MPHA had organised Hapkido Sparring Championship under the Fit India Movement recently.

Lauding SGFI for giving affiliation to Hapkido, Khan said that the game will get a boost all over the country.

“We will be working hard to make it popular at grassroot level. Planning have been started to educated karatekas at city and district levels. We will be holding competitions soon so that the game gets recognition all over soon,” said Khan.