Ranchi, May 21: Jharkhand claimed gold in team kata trophy by defeating Bengal at the ongoing Kai Sub-junior, Cadet, Junior & U-21 National Karate Championship-2016 in Delhi on Friday evening.

The tournament, which began yesterday at the capital's Talkatora Indoor Stadium, is concluding tomorrow.

Sports Karate Association of Jharkhand (SKAJ) officially released the list of winners today. Krishna Kumar Singh, a senior official of the outfit, said that besides one team gold, they have also bagged one silver and three bronze medals in the individual categories.

Around 1,200 players from different parts of the country were taking part in the meet. Team Jharkhand has sent a total of 31 athletes.

Detailing about the medal clinchers, Singh said that team gold was won by junior kata team that included Junul Oreya, Robert Horo and Chaitan Horo. "It is the most prestigious team kata trophy, which we have in our kitty this time. Since last two years, we have been losing out to Bengal in the finals. This time, however, we have defeated them," said Singh. About other medallists, he said that the silver medal was won by Suman Chatomba in the U-14 boys' kumite category.

Bronze medallists were Sheetal Topno in U-21 men's individual kata, Nirali Gudia in cadet female individual kata and Junul Oreya in cadet male kata category, respectively.

Asked about the state of karate as a game in Jharkhand, Singh said that it was picking up pace of late. "One of the reasons for increasing interest among players in martial arts is because of the rising awareness among parents about the importance of self-defence skills," Singh added.