Rupa Bayor became the first Indian taekwondo player to break into the top of the World Poomsae Rankings. Rupa, who hails from Arunachal Pradesh, is currently ranked 9th in the world rankings.
Rupa rose three places with 82.92 points to acquire her current rankings. World Poomsae Rankings is topped by Denmark’s Eva Sandersen with 337.30 points.
Kaitlyn Marie Reclusado of the USA is placed in the second spot with 236.84 points. Jocel Lyn Ninobla is trailing them at third spot with 182.42 points.
Rupa has reaped the fruits of winning an unprecedented bronze medal in the 8th Asian Taekwondo Poomsae Championships in Danang, Vietnam in April.
Hailing the athlete’s performance, India Taekwondo, the national federation for the sport in India, wrote on Instagram, “Rupa Bayor has achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first Indian Taekwondo athlete to be featured in the World Top 10 Poomsae Ranking by WT World Taekwondo.”
“This achievement marks a significant moment for Indian Taekwondo, as she is the first athlete from the country to reach this level in any format of the game. India Taekwondo proudly celebrates this exceptional accomplishment and extends heartfelt gratitude to all its supporters who have been part of this incredible journey,” the post read further.
This marked an astounding achievement for Rupa, who overcame the odds to triumph in the sport.
Rupa’s career in taekwondo has been marked by hardships, especially for someone who hails from an obscure village of Sippi in Daporijo circle of Upper Subansiri district in Arunachal Pradesh.
She, however, played the Poomsae with sheer passion to succeed.
Poomsae is a non-combative form of Taekwondo in which the competitors perform a sequence of techniques linked together into a pattern of moves like the gymnastics routines to be evaluated by a panel of judges. This format is currently a non-Olympic category which features in the Asian Games.