Chhattisgarh: Chhattisgarh now gains popularity in the sports sector of the nation. Nearly 12 participants from the state excelled in the Open Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) 2021 circles and qualified for the World Championships to be held in Kazakhstan in November. Overall, the participants clinched 4 gold and 5 bronze medals. The Chhattisgarh contingent for the World Championship would be led by MMA President Shareef Bapu and general secretary Prasad Gaitonde, east zone director Nitin Singh and Dr Divya Nitin Singh.
Sources report that overall 23 states participated from the country, where Chhattisgarh ranked third. Whereas Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu ranked first and second respectively. The MMA held the games in the senior and junior categories. From Chattisgarh Y Ankit played the junior category Batum weight and clinched gold. Another gold was bagged by Owais in the light heavyweight in the Junior category and Priyaranjan Sahni in the senior category light heavyweight category. On the other hand, bronze was bagged by Kshitij Yadav in junior category lightweight, Akash Yadav in senior class Bentum weight, Mayur Chandra in senior class lightweight and Dhanush Singh in welterweight.
MMA in India is growing at a tremendous rate. It has been recognized as the fastest growing sport in the world. It is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorporating techniques from various combat sports like kickboxing, boxing, and martial arts around the world.