– Mohammed Atherulla Shariff
Bhatkal: Mohammed Zaid, a student of Anjuman Boys’ High School and a trainee at Alliance Martial Arts Academy, has secured first place at the Akhila Karnataka Sports Karate Association State-Level Selection held at Koramangala Indoor Stadium, Bengaluru.
With this achievement, Zaid has earned a place in the National Karate Championships in Hyderabad, where he will represent Karnataka. This is a significant moment for Uttara Kannada district, as there have been very few instances in the championship’s 16-year history where a participant from the region has represented the state at the national level.
Zaid, son of Mohammed Mohsin Raja, has been training under Alliance Martial Arts Academy, Bhatkal, which he said played a key role in his success.
Another Bhatkal boy Ismail Nameer, a ninth-grade student at Huda Islamic School, Mangaluru, won two bronze medals at the selection level. He secured bronze in the 14-15 years below 63kg category and another in the under-21 years below 65kg category. The event had around 650 participants from across Karnataka.
In previous competitions, Nameer had won first place in kata and kumite at a national-level event in 2023, organised by Guru Goju Ryu Karate Academy India. He also secured third place at the 24th Asian/International WFSKO Open Karate Championship in Mumbai in 2019. In 2020, he won first place in kata and third in kumite at the 5th National Level Open Karate Championship in Moodbidri.
