North Bengal’s Pinaki Narayan Maitra sets record in Korean martial arts
Pinaki Narayan Maitra, a resident of Deshbandhu Para, Siliguri, made a name for himself by participating in Taekwondo (a form of Korean martial art) in different parts of the world. What is fascinating is the fame he gained during the Lockdown phase by participating in 85 online world taekwondo competitions from his hometown. His competitors hailed from different parts of the world including the United States, Denmark, Thailand, the Philippines and Bangladesh. He has won laurels in 60 events.
He started his training under Amit Debnath and then he was taught by Grandmaster Taekwondo Olympic winner, Bidhan Lama. Dr Maitra says, "Taekwondo is fast gaining popularity as a means of self-defense.
Maitra’s mixed bag of medals include gold, silver and bronze. In fact, he received a certificate from the Taekwondo Federation of Ukraine before the start of the fateful Russia-Ukraine War. He recently won a medal at the Bangabandhu International Virtual Taekwondo Championship Bangladesh, organised by Bangladesh Taekwondo Federation. The world-wide pandemic situation resulted in most competitive sports events including, taekwondo coming to a halt. It was then that online taekwondo competitions started in Poomsae (Korean martial art). Poomsae is an artistic form of taekwondo. Poomsae or patterns are a set sequence of movements that consists of the various fundamental stances, blocks, punches and kicks logically arranged in a meaningful order in response to attacks from multiple imaginary assailants.
Each Poomsae pattern consists of an established sequence of movements which has a philosophical meaning, and each Poomsae has its own character and distinct quality. Poomsae teaches a student balance, technique, coordination and self-discipline. Children of any age can participate in it. There are Poomsae competitions nationally and internationally. Dr Maitra participated in almost all the online taekwondo competitions since its inception. World Taekwondo Changmukan is an ancient martial arts school in Korea. Dr Maitra is currently working as a representative of the Indian branch of that school. He intends to open a taekwondo training school in the future.
Dr Maitra’s father, Partha Maitra has retired from his office in the judiciary department. His father has always been a die-hard fan of Bruce Lee and Maradona. From a very tender age, Dr Maitra heard stories and anecdotes about Bruce Lee from his father. When he was in school, he was keen to join the school’s cricket or football teams but he did not get the opportunity to do so. Gradually his interest shifted to martial arts and his enthusiasm for learning taekwondo increased. He started his training under Amit Debnath and then he was taught by Grandmaster Taekwondo Olympic winner, Bidhan Lama. Dr Maitra says, "Taekwondo is fast gaining popularity as a means of self-defense. Taekwondo has become even more important as a tool of self-defense for girls. Those who learn Taekwondo get additional benefits when learning gymnastics or yoga and the moves become easier to master. ”
Maitra’s mixed bag of medals include gold, silver and bronze. In fact, he received a certificate from the Taekwondo Federation of Ukraine before the start of the fateful Russia-Ukraine War. He recently won a medal at the Bangabandhu International Virtual Taekwondo Championship Bangladesh, organised by Bangladesh Taekwondo Federation.
Dr Maitra insists that taekwondo training is extremely beneficial and should be made mandatory in schools. Scores of medals adorn his Deshbandhu Para home – tokens of success and reminder of the tough, dedicated hard work he has been doing to beat his rivals at various Taekwondo competitions and win them. Incidentally, Taekwondo is the national sport of South Korea. The game combines warfare, self-defense, sports, exercise, and in some cases meditation and philosophy. In terms of the number of practitioners, Taekwondo was considered the most popular martial art in the world in 1989. The sport has been made a part of the Olympic events since 2000.
