Kickboxing in Jharkhand

Reviewed profileAchievements, tournaments, coaches and FAQs on this page are compiled by hand from federation, government and press reporting, drawing on Wikipedia — Indian Association of Kickboxing Organisations, India at the 2009 Asian Martial Arts Games, Kickboxing at the 2007/2009 Asian Indoor Games, WAKO India (wakoindia.org), Kickboxing Federation of India (kickboxingfederationofindia.com), The Sentinel — Shraddha Rangarh 2024 Asian Championship coverage. These are not cited to individual documents: we hold no per-claim source for them, so treat dates, counts and career records here as a summary rather than a reference. Sections we hold nothing for are left empty. Sport pages last reviewed as a set: September 2026.

Overview

Origin: 1960s
Category: Combat
Olympic discipline: No
Paralympic discipline: No
Central pathway: Federation and state pathway
Athlete profiles on SportSupport: 1

Governance and status

Each field below is shown only where we hold a source for it; anything else reads “Not currently verified” rather than a guess. Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition is granted year by year, so it is only ever shown with the year it applies to. Last reviewed: September 2026.

Indian governing/organising body: WAKO India
Ministry recognition: WAKO India Kickboxing Federation — Annual recognition renewed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports; no 2026 order is published on the Ministry list — as at 2025Source: Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports — List of recognised National Sports Federations
International federation: Not currently verified
Khelo India inclusion: Not currently verified
TOPS eligibility: Not currently verified
Olympic status: Not on the Olympic programme
Paralympic status: Not a Paralympic discipline

Kickboxing is listed on SportSupport in the combat category. Its recorded origin is 1960s. It is not on the Olympic programme. We list WAKO India as the Indian governing/organising body for the sport.

Kickboxing has a federation and state-level pathway in India, and athletes selected through WAKO India may be eligible for state sports-quota employment and state cash awards where their state notifies the discipline. TOPS does not apply, as the discipline is outside the Olympic programme.

Scholarships & Funding

Central, state and private scholarships available for kickboxing athletes in India.

Khelo India Talent Identification & Development (KITID)
Stipend, boarding, coaching and kit at accredited centres for talent identified through the Khelo India selection process (Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports). Applies only to disciplines on the official Khelo India Games list, and only to athletes it selects.
National Sports Development Fund (NSDF)
Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports fund used to sponsor elite athletes' training, foreign coaches and equipment. Allocations are made case by case; we hold no record of NSDF support specific to kickboxing.
Pension for Meritorious Sportspersons
Lifetime monthly pension for retired internationals who meet the scheme's medal criteria at Asian, Commonwealth or World Championship level — Government of India. Whether a given kickboxing event counts depends on the scheme's notified list.
State sports quota and government employment
Many states reserve government and public-sector posts for national-level medallists. Which kickboxing events and which certifying bodies a state accepts varies by state, so check your state's current notification.

Explore all government schemes →

Indian Players

1 profiles

Tajamul IslamIndia
Tajamul Islam (born December 2008) is an Indian kickboxer and coach from the Bandipora district in Jammu and Kashmir. An advocate for young women to have access to education and opportunities to succeed, she is a campaign ambassador for the Government of India’s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao initiative. She is the world's youngest kickboxing champion, and the first Kashmiri, having won a sub-junior world championship at 7 years old.

Browse the full athlete directory →

Rules

Kickboxing is contested in a ring or on a matted area across weight categories, with rounds of two to three minutes. WAKO recognises several distinct disciplines: point-fighting and light-contact, where scoring rewards controlled, accurate technique and heavy power is penalised; kick-light and full-contact, fought continuously with above-the-belt punches and kicks; low-kick, which adds kicks to the thigh; and K-1 style, which additionally permits knee strikes and limited clinch work. Full-contact and low-kick bouts also carry a minimum-kick requirement per round, so a fighter cannot simply box. Judges score strikes, ring control and technique, with a bout ending on points, knockout, technical knockout or disqualification. Elbows, strikes to the back of the head, and throws or grappling are fouls across all formats.

Authoritative rulebook: WAKO India. Age-group and school-level variations are published by SGFI and the state associations each season.

Positions

Typical roles across combat sports. These are category-level descriptions, not a sourced kickboxing squad list.

Fighter / competitor
Contests bouts inside the ring, mat or cage in a set weight category.
Corner / second
Coach in the corner during the bout — allowed to instruct between rounds.
Referee & judges
Officiate the bout, score rounds and enforce safety rules.
Cutman / medical
Manages cuts, swelling and immediate medical needs between rounds.

Equipment

Standard kit and infrastructure required to train and compete in kickboxing at a federation-recognised event.

Boxing gloves (10oz-12oz depending on category) and hand wraps
Foot protectors and shin guards for point-fighting and light-contact formats
Mouthguard, groin guard and chest protector for women's categories
Head guard for semi-contact, junior and light-contact divisions
Approved uniform — long trousers for full-contact/low-kick, shorts for K-1 style
Ring or 8m x 8m matted competition area with judges' scoring equipment

Governing/organising body

Body listed on SportSupport

WAKO India Kickboxing Federation

WAKO India Kickboxing Federation is the body we list as the Indian governing/organising body for Kickboxing. Its recognition status as we hold it: Annual recognition renewed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports; no 2026 order is published on the Ministry list (as at 2025). Recognition is granted year by year, so read the federation profile for the source.

Origin: 1960s
Olympic: No
Paralympic: No
Category: Combat

WAKO India profile →All federations →

Major Indian Events

Domestic competitions we hold a source for in kickboxing.

National Kickboxing Championships
Kickboxing in India is organized under multiple bodies with real, if overlapping, activity: WAKO India Kickboxing Federation (formerly the Indian Association of Kickboxing Organisations, formed 1993, headquartered in Odisha) was explicitly recognized by MYAS as the National Sports Federation on 2 July 2021 and runs the WAKO India Seniors and Masters National Championships (2025 edition saw Manipur top the medal table with 7 gold). A separately-operating Kickboxing Federation of India (KFI) has run its own numbered Senior/Junior/Sub-Junior Nationals since the 2000s — the same kind of multi-body overlap seen in several other Indian combat sports.

International Events

Continental and world-level competitions we hold a source for in kickboxing.

Asian Kickboxing Championship
Shraddha Rangarh became the first Indian to win multiple medals at this event (two gold, two silver) in 2024, defeating rivals from Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.
World Kickboxing Federation (WKF) events
KFI reports India has won 6 gold, 13 silver and 8 bronze medals across various WKF international events. At one World Championship in Italy, Tajamul Islam won a gold medal at age 8, becoming a widely-cited role model for junior kickboxers in India.
Asian Martial Arts Games
Laxmi Tyagi won silver in the women's 52kg low-kick division in 2009.

Leagues

No dedicated professional league is currently catalogued for kickboxing. The national championship under WAKO India remains the top domestic competition.

All leagues →

International Players

Globally recognised kickboxing athletes to know outside India.

The international federation for kickboxing maintains the current world ranking — check the federation site for the up-to-date top names.

Career Options

Ways to build a career in kickboxing — on the field, on the sidelines and behind the scenes.

The sport has real regional strength in Northeast India — Manipur, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh consistently feature among top medal-winning states at National Championships
Playing pathway through state associations affiliated to WAKO India or KFI feeding national and international selection
Coaching and refereeing certification through WAKO India, which also runs regular training camps and referee seminars

Explore sports careers →Coaches directory →

Related academies

0 listed

No kickboxing academies are catalogued in the directory yet. Browse the full academy list or list your academy to appear here.

All academies →List your academy →

Government Schemes

1 listed

Central and state schemes that fund training, stipends and awards for kickboxing athletes and academies.

Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, through the Sports Authority of India (SAI)
Khelo India ASMITA Women's Leagues (including the ASMITA Football League)
ASMITA (Achieving Sports Milestone by Inspiring Women), earlier called the Khelo India Women's League, is a Khelo India initiative started in 2021 to increase women's participation in sport and to identify new talent. SAI supports the national sports federations in conducting the leagues across age groups at zonal and national level. For 2025-26, 852 leagues were planned in 15 sports disciplines for more than 70,000 women athletes across all States and Union Territories, up from 550 leagues in 27 disciplines and 53,101 women athletes in the previous season. The ASMITA Football League 2025-26 was inaugurated on 10 August 2025 in Jalgaon, Maharashtra, with support from the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the Western India Football Association. Kickboxing leagues were also held under ASMITA in 2025-26 (zonal leagues in the North, West and South zones and a national league) by the WAKO India Kickboxing Federation, the national federation for kickboxing recognised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

All government schemes →

FAQs

Common questions about kickboxing in India.

Who governs Kickboxing in India?▾

We list WAKO India as the Indian governing/organising body for Kickboxing, and state associations affiliated to it run age-group and state-level competition. We hold no current-year Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition record for it, so this is not a statement that it is currently a recognised national sports federation — recognition is granted year by year.

Is Kickboxing an Olympic sport?▾

No, Kickboxing is not on the Olympic programme.

How do I start playing Kickboxing in India?▾

The usual routes are a school team under the School Games Federation of India (SGFI), a college team under the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), or a private academy affiliated to your state association under WAKO India. Age-group state championships follow from there.

What government schemes support Kickboxing athletes?▾

TOPS does not apply, as Kickboxing is outside the Olympic programme. State-government cash awards or sports-quota employment can apply where a state notifies the discipline, which varies by state. Kickboxing does not appear on the official Khelo India Games discipline list, so we make no Khelo India claim for it.

Kickboxing in every state & UT

Dedicated pages for Kickboxing in each Indian state and Union Territory — academies, schemes, athletes and how to start.