Karatekas from Jharkhand claimed five medals -- 2 gold, as many silver and a bronze for the country in the International B.G Karate Championship held at B.K.S.P Sports Village, Indoor Stadium in Dhaka (Bangladesh) from December 28 to 30.

One karateka from Kharagpur in neighbouring Bengal also finished with a medal under his belt.

The list of medal winners from Jharkhand includes Neeraj Kumar (gold, black belt kata category), Pranab Paul (gold and bronze in black belt Kumite category), Karnisha Das (silver in kata section), Adarsh Kumar Singh ( silver in black belt kata category).

Bengal's Narayan Tanti claimed silver in the black belt Kumite section.

Thirty-eight karatekas from Jharkhand, Bengal and Rajasthan represented India in this championship.

Shihan L. Nageshwar Rao, chief coach at Tata Steel Karate Training Centre in Jamshedpur who officiated as chief coach and referee during the event, said "Neeraj Kumar and Karnisha Das performed very well in the event and impressed everyone with their skill’.

Other karatekas also put in a good show “I am happy that the karatekas won laurels for India as well as Jharkhand," added Rao, also vice-president of Karate Association of India (KAI),

Neeraj, who teaches karate at Narbheram Hansraj English School in Jamshedpur, said he was confident about winning a gold at the event in Dhaka. "In fact, I trained hard and was well tuned for the international event. I would put in more effort to win medals and glory for India and Jharkhand," he added.

The championship was organized by Bangladesh Goju Ryu Karate Federation. It was organized under the supervision of Shihan Khaled Mansur Chowdhury, organizing secretary and chief coach of Bangladesh Karate as per the guidelines issued by Bangladesh government.

The rules & regulations of the World Karate Federation (WKF) were followed. The championship was inaugurated by BKSP Colonel Md. Mizanur Rahman, P.S.C., Bangladesh and BKSP Mohammad Anwar Hussain was chief guest at the concluding day ceremony. The event was held under qualified referees of Asian Karate Federation.

In this championship, 130 karatekas from India, Nepal and Bangladesh displayed their prowess.