Jharkhand will mark its presence in the national taekwondo map in the coming days.

On Sunday, Jharkhand Taekwondo Association general secretary Prabhat Kumar Sharma was elected secretary of Taekwondo Federation of India defeating old-timer and former IPS Harish Kumar, who has been embroiled in corruption issues.

Two years ago, Sharma along with 23 other office-bearers of state outfits, had first moved a no-confidence motion against Kumar after which the national outfit started running into several legal battles. Sunday's election to choose new officer bearers of the national outfit were conducted on the orders of Delhi High Court. Sharma, who got 42 of 63 votes, as many as 21 states voted for him, said his position would boost the state's prospects in taekwondo nationally.

"You will now see Jharkhand's taekwondo bloom both locally and nationally," he told The Telegraph from Delhi, adding that he would now also focus on ensuring that the state's talent get enough exposure and opportunities in big-ticket tournaments.

"But that doesn't mean that other states will remain behind. My job as secretary of the national outfit is to be fair to all by supporting them to take the sport forward," he said.

Sharma said that both players and officials associated with taekwondo in the state were happy about his elevation as national secretary. "Focus is now on more events of various nature. We will try to get as many trial," he promised.

Listing priorities of the federation, he said, "For the Nagaland and Mexico meets, we have started working. Plans for training are being fine-tuned. Since the taekwondo training in the country is outdated, use of the latest training methodology is the need of the hour," he explained.