Four students and two alumni of Rajshahi University (RU) have won six medals, including two gold, one silver and three bronze, at the first Sauraha International Open Taekwondo Championship in Nepal.

Held from 30 October to 1 November in Sauraha, Chitwan, the championship brought together around 500 athletes from nine countries, including Australia and the Maldives. Participants competed in Kyorugi (combat) and Poomsae (technical performance).

Mohammad Shaheen Ali, a student of the Department of Folklore and Social Development Studies from the 2021–22 academic session, won a gold medal. He also became the grand champion for the second consecutive year. Shaheen currently serves as president of the Rajshahi University Taekwondo Club.

Another gold medal went to Ridwan Taskin Ratul, a former student of the Department of Painting, Oriental Art and Printmaking. He previously won a silver medal at the World University Taekwondo Festival in South Korea in 2018. Ratul is currently the head instructor of ARC Global Taekwondo Academy in Rajshahi and holds a second Dan black belt recognised by Kukkiwon and Jidokwan in South Korea.

Mohammad Naim Ali, a former student of the Department of Bangla from the 2011–12 academic session, won silver in the individual Poomsae category of the Masters division for athletes aged 33 to 49.

The three bronze medallists are Sabah Kaneta Tarik, a student of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism from the 2021–22 academic session; Kamruzzaman, from the same department’s 2023–24 academic session; and Mariam, a student of the Department of Physical Education and Sports Science from the 2022–23 academic session.

The team was coached by Kamruzzaman Chanchal, deputy director of the university’s Physical Education and Sports Department, an international Taekwondo master and former coach of the Bangladesh national team.