Shillong, Jul 23: Karate is truly on the up and up in Meghalaya, with a new record of 802 karatekas from 126 schools having signed up for this year’s 32nd State Level Inter School Karate Tournament 2026, which began here today.
The three-day championship is being organised by the All Meghalaya Karate-Do Association (AMKA) with the steadfast support of the Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs. The event is once again being hosted at the Multipurpose Indoor Hall at the Sports Authority of India centre on the NEHU Shillong campus.
Last year there were 748 entrants from 104 schools. St Anthony’s Higher Secondary School are the defending champions in the boys’ division and Auxilium Girls’ Higher Secondary School in the girls’ division.
The chief guest on the occasion today was Meghalaya State Olympic Association (MSOA) Working President John F Kharshiing. The guest of honour was MSOA General Secretary Finely L Pariat.
Kharshiing praised AMKA as “one of the few state associations to have an inter-school programme.” Pariat, meanwhile, repeated a sentiment he has expressed before, namely that AMKA is “one of the best sports associations in the state.”
With the 39th National Games, which Meghalaya will host, less than a year away, the state’s karatekas have been engaged in rigorous training for the mega event and some of the older students in this tournament are sure to be in the running for the National Games if karate is included among the disciplines.
AMKA also used this opportunity to felicitate two karatekas who brought glory to Meghalaya at the recent South Asian Karate Championship in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Daniel Dabiangbha Warjri won a gold medal in the Boys’ Junior -68kg Kumite category, while Gideon Tympuin bagged a bronze in the Men’s U-21 Individual Kata.
The honours were presented by the chief guest and guest of honour. Additionally, Pariat announced a cash award as a token of appreciation from the MSOA to the two karatekas in recognition of their phenomenal achievements.
Before the competitions began, the oath-taking ceremony was led by Daniel, followed by the formal declaration of the tournament’s opening by Kharshiing.
(All Meghalaya Karate-Do Association photo)