Joda: Bablu Munda will represent India at the VIIth World Wushu Championships to be played in Brazil July 9-16. Bablu is currently training in China.
The 13-year-old, who belongs to a tribal family of Sialijoda village in Deojhar gram panchayat under Joda block, got his initial training under international kick-boxer and coach Pankaj Kumar Mahanta.
Notably, Bablu, who lives with his mother and grandmother, had secured a silver medal in the 17th National Sub-Junior Wushu Championships at Jammu & Kashmir in March earlier in the year.
In between, he had also participated in a national training camp, organised by SAI, which helped him get a ticket to Brazil.
At the age of six, Bablu bagged a silver at the 16th state-level Kick-boxing Championships in Bhubaneswar in 2011. Till 2016 he had won 12 medals, which included seven gold, a silver and four bronze medals in the sport. The tribal kid, who is a student of Government Nodal School in Barbil, since then has won five more medals to take his tally to 17 while participating in 21 state and national meets.
Bablu is being provided sponsorship by Jindal Steel & Power Limited for his training and participating in national and international tournaments.