Grand feast for kickboxing lovers

A sumptuous feast for lovers of martial arts begins tomorrow with the staging of the second Indian Open National Kickboxing Championship at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. Sanctioned by Indian Association of Kickboxing Organisations (IAKO), the four-day meet is being be hosted by All Orissa Kickboxing Association (AOKA) in association with Pumas International and Rotary Club of Bhubaneswar. Around 1,000 participants from across the country would vie for medals in seven categories, AOKA president Shivananda Ray said at a media conference today. The categories include semi-contact, light-contact, full-contact, low kick, K-1, musical forms and aero-kickboxing. A budget of Rs 10 lakh has been estimated for the conduct of the meet. The National federation has committed an assistance of Rs 3 lakh for the purpose. IAKO founder president S S Harichandan described Indian Open as the true open National kickboxing competition for all martial arts organisations in India, irrespective of any style or system. He, however, lamented that the State Sports Department was not helping for the successful conduct of such a mega event. ``Instead of providing some financial assistance, the Department took Rs 90,000 as advance for use of the facilities at Kalinga Stadium,`` Harichandan alleged.