Northern Zonal Round of Khelo India Women’s Wushu League Set to Shine with International Athletes

Patiala: The highly anticipated northern zonal round of the Khelo India Women’s Wushu League is set to captivate audiences, featuring distinguished international athletes Ayeera Chisti and Komal Nagar. This thrilling competition will be hosted at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports in Patiala from July 9 to 13, showcasing the talents of 350 athletes across sub-junior, junior, and senior categories.

Organized by SAI Patiala, the event will include both Sanda (fighting) and Taolu (forms), with participants hailing from Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh. Funded by the Department of Sports, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the Rs 7.2 lakh prize money competition is conducted by the Wushu Federation of India. The top eight athletes from the sub-junior, junior, and senior events will receive cash incentives.

Following the successful South Zonal event in Karnataka last month, the North Zonal meet marks the next phase in the league’s calendar. After the completion of the four zonal meets, a national ranking championship will be held.

The women’s wushu league provides a platform for numerous players aspiring to make a mark, including international medallists Ayeera (18 years) and Komal (19 years), who both train at the NSNIS Patiala Centre.

“I am very excited to compete on my home ground here in my third Khelo India Women’s Wushu League, having won gold in the last two championships,” said Ayeera, who debuted in this competition in 2022.

“The Khelo India Women’s League is very important for many girls, especially looking towards the future, and I’m thankful to the government for this opportunity. Personally, I aim to clinch a gold medal at the Asian Games in the 52kg category and become the first woman to achieve this feat for India in this weight division. Before that, I am targeting gold at the Senior Asian Championships in China this September,” added Ayeera.

Ayeera Chisti, from Jammu and Kashmir, is looking to clinch her third consecutive gold medal at the Khelo India Women’s Wushu League. She will compete in the senior 52kg Sanda category. Ayeera won a bronze at the Junior Wushu World Championship in Indonesia in 2022, a gold at the International Wushu Championship in Georgia in 2022, and another gold at the Russian Moscow Stars Wushu International Championship in 2024.

Chandigarh’s Komal, a gold medallist at the Russian Moscow Stars Wushu International Championship 2023 in Sanda, said, “Getting an opportunity to play one more tournament in the calendar year besides the nationals boosts our confidence.”

“The Khelo India Women’s League gives us a good playfield for performance assessment, helps us understand flaws in our game, and identifies areas to work on,” said Komal, who began learning self-defence techniques at 14.