Guwahati, May 26: Assam's Rodali Barua, bronze medallist in taekwondo (kyorugi) at the Asian Championships, aims to win a medal in the World Championships next year.
Rodali won a bronze medal in the women’s 73-kg category at the Asian Taekwondo Championship on May 17 at Tien Sơn Sports Palace, Da Nang, Vietnam.
Driven by the desire to win an international medal and inspire upcoming taekwondo practitioners in India, Rodali is training hard for the World Championship. “This is only the beginning,” she asserted. “Since the World Championship offers a greater stage than the Asian Championships, I must put in more effort and win a medal there.”
The World Championships is scheduled to be held in Wuxi, China in 2025.
Rodali defeated Uzbekistan’s Iroda Mirtadjieva in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Asian Championships before suffering a loss against China’s Xu Lei in the last four.
Her journey began in the corridors of Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 1 in Tezpur, where she took up taekwondo as a compulsory extracurricular activity. "I started taekwondo to have another extracurricular activity as a way to bunk classes,” Rodali said. “Well, my advantageous height and talents registered soon enough. I developed them in the heavyweight category as there were fewer participants and a better chance of winning medals.”
Rodali's pursuit of taekwondo bore fruit when she clinched a bronze at the 4th Junior Nationals in Pondicherry, marking the start of a series of competitive achievements. She went on to secure gold at the national championships in 2016 as a senior participant.
Despite dropping out of the Asian Championship camp in 2016 due to a weight challenge, Rodali persisted in her training. She qualified for the 2018 Asian Championship in Vietnam and marked her return to competitive taekwondo with a gold medal at the 2019 South Asian Games.
Raised in an affluent family of four with no sporting influences, Rodali credits her family's constant support. “My family has always been a guide. My father is a tea estate businessman, my mother a housewife, my younger brother is completing his graduation, and my elder sister, a clinical psychologist, is proud of my determination and success in taekwondo.”
Surendra Bhandari, the only Indian to win a medal in taekwondo at the Asian Games, has been a significant inspiration throughout Rodali's career. Bhandari’s feat from 2002 continues to inspire aspiring taekwondo practitioners in India.
Rodali also stresses the importance of financial support and international exposure for Indian athletes. “Other country players compete in 10 to 15 international open tournaments annually, earning invaluable experience. We don’t have the same exposure or financial backing despite having comparable skills and methods. We could compete just as well on a global scale if we had greater opportunities and assistance,” Rodali signs off.
