A CONTINGENT of 38 talented karatekas,mostly from Nagpur,represented Maharashtrain 65 events at the prestigious 20th All India Independence Cup Ka ra te Championship–2026 that was conducted at the TalkatoraIndoor Stadium, NewDelhi recently. Theplayersreturnedwith awhopping 7gold, 12 silverand 16 bronzemedals. The championshipwas organised jointly by Seikokai Karate International India and Bharat Karate Academy (BKA) under the approvalof theKarateIndia Organisation (KIO). The eventwasconductedunder the guidance of Hanshi Bharat Sharma, President, Karate India Organisation (KIO). Maharashtracontingent participatedunder theleadership of Hanshi Dr Zakir Khan, Technical Director, MITSUYA-KAI Hayashi-ha Shito-Ryu Karate-Do India &Kobu-Do. The medal winners represented various affiliated training centres of Nagpur, including Indoor Stadium Mankapur Main Branch, MOD –The Fight &Fitness Dojo,GouraFitness,Besa Branch, and MIKADO Martial Arts,TekaBranch. MEDAL WINNERS Sayesha Tiwari(bronze, gold), Samrut Choudhary (bronze, silver), Niharika Matte (gold, bronze), Kiyansh Dargan (silver), Rianah Thakur (gold), Prayan Nakhate (silver, bronze), RiyanshiPandey (silver), Viaann Sukhadia (bronze, silver), Ishanvi Khapekar (bronze), Bhavishka Wandile (bronze), Shivank Mendiretta (silver), Naisha Bhartia (silver,gold), Aashvi Mohota (gold, silver), AmairaPurohit (silver, bronze), Shivansh Singh (two silver), OjaswiKulsange (two bronze)Trishna Kamble (gold, bronze), Amir Ahemad(gold), Yuvraj Mishra(bronze), Umar Ansari (bronze), Amishi Purohit(silver), Aditya Singh(bronze), ShouryaMahakalkar (silver), Hammad Syed (bronze), Saherish Naaz (bronze, bronze), Rishi Lanjewar(bronze), Kaonein Syed(bronze). All the medal winners gavethe credit to parents, coachesShihanEmmanuel Philip,SenseiSachinLohakare, Shihan Shiraz Syed and Dr Khan.