DHARUN Kannan, son of Group Captain R Kannan, a serving Indian Air Force officer posted in Nagpur, has brought laurels to the country and city by winning a gold and a silver medal at the 3rd ITF Taekwon-Do World Cup Championship 2026, held in Turkistan, Kazakhstan. Representing India in the 16–17 years male category, Dharun won gold in Individual Sparring and silver in Individual Pattern, delivering an impressive performance against international competitors. Dharun was part of the 11- member Indian contingent that secured seven medals, including three gold, two silver and two bronze, at the championship. The international event witnessed participation from 780 players representing 35 countries. The Indian contingent was led by team manager and coach Master Pradeep Janardhana, 7th Dan, while Master Narender Singh Rawat, 8th Dan, represented India as an international umpire.

 

Among the other Indian medal winners, NeeralTrivedi of Maharashtra won gold in Individual Pattern in the female category. Dua Amaan of Karnataka secured gold in Individual Sparring and silver in Individual Pattern in the 16–17 years female category. Vedant Mishra of Delhi won two bronze medals in Individual Sparring and Individual Pattern in the 16–17 years male category. Other members of the Indian contingent included Avyukth Nayar, Aanvi Jha, Alicia Lobo, Sai Sripradha S Raju and Nakshtra N Gundala from Karnataka,along with Shirsho Dutta and Aniket Agarwal from Delhi. Grand Master Dr Rajendran Balan, President of the TaekwonDo Association of India, expressed pride in the Indian team’s achievement, noting that the team had secured podium finishes at three consecutive international competitions between August and October 2026, in Malaysia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan.