A contender at the taekwondo world championship held in Madrid, Spain, this year celebrates his victory

Darjeeling, May 17: Taekwondo is expected to receive a major boost in the region with the first World United Taekwondo Championship to be held here this October.

The championship, in which participants from the US, Canada, Singapore and the Saarc countries are expected, will be organised by the Gorkha Hill Taekwondo Association (GHTA) and supported by the US West Coast Taekwondo Association. The event will be hosted at Gymkhana Hall on October 21 and 22 .

The prime mover of the show is Master Shuny Bee, who is originally from Nepal, but later moved over to the US, where he set up his martial arts school at Milwaukie, Portland. He opened the institution after his brief and not-so-successful stint with Bollywood.

?We want to showcase local talents in the international arena and this, we feel, will provide a platform for the hill boys. From now on, the meet will be an annual event and the venues will be either Nepal, the US or Hong Kong,? Bee said.

According to him, the hill youths are well-trained, but do not have the right exposure. This, Bee said, was a hindrance for aspiring sportsmen.

?Those selected for the 16-member team that will represent the state in the 25th Junior Taekwondo Championship to be held in Imphal from June 26, are all from Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Kurseong. This speaks volumes of the talent in the hill subdivisions,? said Pravin Chandra Pradhan, the secretary of the GHTA.

In order to showcase the best of skills from the area, a combined team from Bengal and Sikkim has been planned for the October show.

?The World Taekwondo Federation and the Taekwondo Federation of India have given the go-ahead and we are gearing up for the huge event,? said Trilok Subba, the chief coach of the team from Sikkim.

Though the meet is not the official world championship, it has been acknowledged by the World Taekwondo Federation.

The organisers are pulling out all stops to ensure the success of the event. And that does not mean they are concerned only about putting the infrastructure in place. They also have the glitz in mind and are planning to rope in Bollywood star Akshay Kumar. ?We have formed a 16-member organising committee led by Hem Raj Gurung. The team will take care of everything,? said O.T. Eden, the secretary of the Taekwondo Sports Association.

Admitting that the infrastructure here needs an upgrade, Shuny Bee said the cost would be shared by the US West Coast Association.