Competing with around 800 children from as many as 24 States, a group of students from Puducherry did this town proud when eight (six girls) of them won prizes at the national meet of Matsogi-Do, a martial art form, held in Goa last month.
The fact that it was the first time students from Puducherry were participating in the national meet was no deterrent for the enthusiastic girls and boys. The students won four gold medals, two silver medals and two bronze medals.
The team was guided by master coaches Kalaya Karthikeyan, M. Govindaraj, Vishnushankar, Srinivasan and Dilipen. Puducherry has witnessed an increasing interest in Matsogi-Do, which has its origins in Jammu, ever since free coaching has been offered in government schools with the support of the Matsogi-Do Association of Puducherry.
In the first interschool level Matsogi-Do championship held in Puducherry in November last year, students had displayed a skill set which came with a boost in confidence. The girl students had spoken of how they felt assured of defending themselves in case of trouble.
The students and coaches have already set their next target- the national meet in Jammu and Kashmir in December 2015.
