Ishant Thakur, an MCA student at Parul University, wins gold at the 9th Asia Cup International Open Karate Championship 2026

Ishant Pappu Thakur started karate as a schoolboy in Pune and kept at it through college. He studied at M.E.S. Abasaheb Garware College in Pune for his bachelor’s, competing at district level in Mumbai, a national tournament in Lonavala and an international one in Goa along the way. What began as a school activity became something he wanted to carry into his postgraduate years.

When Ishant looked at master’s programmes, one question decided it: could he keep training while he studied? He had thought about staying in Pune, but also wanted a new city. Researching online, he found Parul University, contacted an admissions counsellor, and asked specifically about support for student athletes. The answer, and the university’s sports department, settled it. He credits the department’s director, Dr. Gopal P. Singh, as approachable and ready to help, and says the assurance on sports support, with his family’s blessing, is why he enrolled for the MCA.

Moving out of his hometown was not easy. He had never lived away from home, and he felt homesick at first, like most students do. Time with hostel friends and a steady routine of classes, rest and evening practice settled him, and the move pushed him to become more independent while keeping both his studies and his sport going.

The routine was the discipline. Lectures by day, rest, then training from about 4:30 to 7:30 in the evening at the campus ground, Champion’s Cove. He trained alone or with teammates depending on the session, and sparred with the Taekwondo players for practice against a different martial art.

Through all of it ran his coach, Kailas Lohar, whom Ishant describes as a steadying presence in the rough patches. When a setback knocked his confidence, the coach was the one who talked him back into the work. That trust, Ishant says, is part of what let him walk into the competition sure of himself.

On 27 September 2026, Ishant competed at the 9th Asia Cup International Open Karate Championship at the Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai, organised by the Asian Shito-Ryu Seikikai Sports Karate-Do Association. He had come for gold, and the pressure nearly got to him first.

I have practiced a lot and wanted to perform my best. However, when the time came for the competition to take place I got very nervous. Playing in a tournament is such a different experience to just practicing. I could feel the pressure building up. My coach, Mr Kailas Lohar, told me to play the game and the result will take care of itself. This helped me to stay focused during the match.

He won. The gold is the high point so far of a run that reaches back to his first school classes, and a proud moment for his family and the university.

Ishant is not done. He wants more competitions, and treats each one as a measure of what to fix next.

I would continue to look for opportunities. Sirf competitions se pata chalta hai practice ki kitni zarurat hai.

Only competition, he means, shows you how much practice you still need. His message to other students is the one he has lived.

You must know what your goal is and give your 100% to achieve it.

SOURCE AND CONTEXT.  Based on a student-achievement interview with Ishant Pappu Thakur, Parul University. Quotations are reproduced as given, including his own Hindi line. His LinkedIn profile is linked with tracking parameters removed.

• Ishant Pappu Thakur MCA student, Parul University; gold medallist
• Kailas Lohar Ishant’s karate coach
• Dr. Gopal P. Singh Director, Sports Department, Parul University
• Asian Shito-Ryu Seikikai Sports Karate-Do Association Organiser of the championship
• Parul University Vadodara, Gujarat