"Despite being an Olympic sport, we are lagging...": India first-ever top 10 taekwondo athlete Rupa

Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh) [India], January 7 : Indian Taekwondo player Rupa Bayor, who became the first player from the country to break into the top 10 world Poomsae Rankings in October last year, opened up on her journey in the sport and urged the government to focus more on its upliftment.
Bayor, aged 23, moved into the top 10 of the World Poomsae Rankings in October last year. She is also a gold medalist at national team trials for 8th Asian Taekwondo Championships held last year. Rupa also went on to win India's first medal in the competition last year.
Speaking to ANI recently, Rupa thanked everyone for supporting her in her journey.
"I would like to thank everyone who supported me. It was not my effort alone and it was not easy. I would like to thank my coach and the Welspun (Welspun Super Sports Women's Program), who also supported me," she said.
On her recent games, she said, "I played Asian Open in Indonesia, won a silver. I had just played the world championships but had crashed out in pre-quarterfinals."
Speaking on her journey in Taekwondo, Rupa said that she learnt Karate from her uncle and it was him who recommended her to take up Taekwondo. She started with the sport in 2015 and turned professional in 2021.
"Initially, I did not even know what Taekwondo was. It is not very popular in India and we focus more on Karate. My mother's brother was a karate master. I learnt my karate from him and he recommended me to learn Taekwondo. This started my journey with the sport. It was an Olympic sport and got government help. He knew this route would be better for me and I started my journey in 2015," she said.
"My coaches and family have supported me a lot. My family's financial condition is not very good Welspun has been helping me here, ever since I had not won a medal or played a championship. They made my journey easy with all sorts of support, especially financial. In 2021, I turned a professional in taekwondo. In such a less time, coming in top 10 rankings and achieving so much at the international level, is really great," she added.
Speaking on the lack of popularity of the sport despite many students taking up Taekwondo classes at the school level across India, Rupa said that there needs to be great leadership in handling this issue.
"We can handle it with proper leadership. Our government has to pay attention to it. Badminton, boxing etc are very much ahead. But despite being an Olympic sport, we are lagging behind. Our federation faces problems, government is not paying attention to it. This is not helping players at all. If you want to win medals and improve the players, you will have to take steps," she said.
"If my speaking could spark change, it would be great. Players are not able to play and if they play, they have to pay money for playing tournaments such as nationals. There must be proper sponsorships, tracksuits etc. It must fill one with pride. The federation is not being given funds by government. I would like to urge government to focus on our sport as well," she added.
Rupa said that 2026 shapes up to be a major year for her as the Asian Championships, World Championships and Asian Games are taking place.
"I know have shortcomings. I will have to train more and focus on them. I would like to play my ranking games that would help me qualify for the Asian Games and Olympics. 2026 is my key focus year as Asian Championships, World Championships and Asian Games will take place," she concluded.