Puran Andrew Gurung
| Puran Andrew Gurung | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 13 November 1949 Kalimpong, West Bengal, India |
| Other names | Grand Master PA Gurung[1] |
| Residence | Dilshad Garden, New Delhi |
| Style | Taekwondo |
| Teacher(s) | Lee Pyung Pal |
| Rank | |
| Website | pagitas |
Puran Andrew Gurung (Hindi pronunciation: [Puuruhn Aendroo Guhruhng]; born 13 November 1949) is an Indian taekwondo practitioner and coach. He is a 9th dan taekwondo professional and is known for establishing taekwondo in India. Gurung founded his first taekwondo gymnasium at Kalimpong in 1974 and by 1982 had become the most popular taekwondo instructor in India. He established a vast chain of academies across the nation and for his efforts towards promoting taekwondo in India he was acknowledged by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi. He was requested to train Indian National Congress' Seva Dal cadets. In 1983 Mrs. Gandhi asked him to join INC which he readily accepted, where he is still serves as the General Secretary (Organiser) of the Seva Dal.[3]
He established several social organizations in India, and served as coach of Nepal National Team from 1986 to 1989. His students from Nepal won 4 bronze medals at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul and 1 bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics (by Bidhan Lama), and he also contributed his services as vice- chairman at the 8th Asian Taekwondo Championship, Kathmandu.
He is the acting National Coordinator Taekwondo/Martial Arts at , New Delhi. He is among the Directors of International Taekwondo Council - U.K.,[4] International Technical Director International Ch'ang Taekwondo Federation - Canada, Chairman of Taekwondo Development Foundation - New Delh, All India Taekwondo Federation - New Delhi, and PAG International Taekwondo - New Delhi.[5] He is also the Brand Ambassador of Guinness World Record in India (Taekwondo). He is considered the patron of Korean Culture Center in New Delhi. He has served as chairman of the Taekwondo Federation of India - Technical Committee and National Disciplinary Committee, and was the Competition Director at the 2011 National Games of India.
Biography[]
Early life[]
G M Gurung was born on 13 November 1949 in Kalimpong, West Bengal, India.[citation needed]
Initiation of professional taekwondo[]
In 1970 while he was posted in Hong Kong as part of the British Army. He and his friend John casually went to YMCA International, Kowloon, there they met Great Grand Master Lee Pyung Pal. Seeing his distinctive style Gurung and John were quite impressed and requested Master Lee to start taekwondo training classes in Army Cantonment Area at Sekkong Army Camp. Master Lee accepted the offer and started to train Gurung and many other Gurkha army personnel. This was the first Gurkha batch of taekwondo trainees in the history of the taekwondo movement. Later Shin Jae Kyun took over this batch from Lee. Gurung, Swiba Lepcha, Ratna Bahadur Pun, Lal Sunder Rai and some others also visited YMCA for extra classes from Great Grand Master Lee. Puran Andrew Gurung, Ratna Bahadur Pun, Chandra Bahadur Gurung, Kamal Bahadur Gurung and Ramesh Goshai were the first Gurkhas to earn black belt in taekwondo history. In 1973, Puran Andrew Gurung earned his 2nd dan before his return to India.
Premature retirement from Army[]
In 1973 he got an opportunity to showcase his talent. He was selected to participate in the 1st World Taekwondo Championships, but unfortunately he could not proceed to Korea. His official obligations proved to be the biggest roadblock. This proved to be a setback for him. It was then he realized that to pursue his passion of Taekwondo he will have to take premature retirement from British Army. He never gave it a second thought to the idea and finally took premature retirement from the British Army and went to Nepal later in 1973.
First taekwondo instructor of Nepal[]
He tried to initiate a taekwondo academy at Kathmandu, but at that time martial arts training for civilians was prohibited in Nepal. When he did his first demonstration in Nepal in 1973, He had to face severe consequences and finally had to flee from Nepal. Gurung and his team from Kolkata were invited by his students Deepraj Gurung and Dinesh Rai from the Darjeeling Taekwondo Club to demonstrate taekwondo for the second time at City Hall, Kathmandu in 1982. Prince Dhirendra of Nepal, Patron National Sports Council Nepal was the chief guest he witnessed the presentation by Gurung and his team.[6] Sharad Chandra Shah, member secretary National Sports Council Nepal was also present at the event. Quite impressed by the demonstration Prince Dhirendra instructed Shah to open a taekwondo academy in Nepal. Later Shah invited Gurung to his office and requested him to initiate taekwondo training in Nepal. Puran Andrew Gurung accepted the offer and deputed his pupils Deepraj Gurung and Dinesh Rai as his representative instructors at Nepal. Shah was also advised by Puran Andrew Gurung to officially invite Shin Jae Kyun through the World Taekwondo Federation. In 1986, he was again pursued to become the coach of the Nepal National Team of Taekwondo. This offer was accepted by him and his trainees won 4 bronze medals at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul and 1 bronze medal (Bidhan Lama) at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
First taekwondo instructor of India[]
Having no other option after fleeing from Nepal in 1973, he came back to his home town in Darjeeling and started the first Taekwondo Gymnasium of India at Scottish University Mission Institute (SUMI) in 1974 at Kalimpong followed by Darjeeling Taekwondo Academy at Turn Bull High School and one at Gangtok, Sikkim where he personally trained the students till 1978, and became the first taekwondo instructor in India. In 1978 he started his 'National Taekwondo Voyage' in India. He came to Kolkata and by 1981 established 4 other academies in Kolkata at Hindi High School, St Thomas School, BBYS and YMCA. after 1981 he started expanding his arm to different parts of India notably Madras, Bangalore, Calicut, Kerala, Hyderabad, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, Assam, Guwahati, Meghalaya, Mizoram and many more places till the end of 1982. By this time he became the most popular taekwondo instructor of India, consequently inviting professional rivalries. In 1982 he shifted to Delhi and started his academy at Jawaharlal Nehru University with assistant instructor Chandu Bhutia and Delhi University with assistant instructor Dr. Sunil Kaul. Later the Official Taekwondo Hall of Fame USA conferred upon him the title of Father of Taekwondo India and Nepal.[1]
Life as a social worker[]
Apart from his taekwondo fame he was also known as an active social worker. He established several NGOs that worked for the education of children from underprivileged sections of the society and for women empowerment. He established Tentulkuli Jankalyan Samity at Howrah and established the Little Angel School and teaching several children up to the third grade. Gurung continuously donated a major section of his earnings to the school. He further established different NGOs for women empowerment in different parts of India, notably "Jan Hit" in Guwahati and Itanagar.
Indian National Congress[]
In 1983, Indira Gandhi the then Prime Minister of India, constituted a committee to search experts of different subjects and skills to teach and train Seva Dal (frontal organisations of the Indian National Congress) volunteers. Considering the popularity of Gurung, Jagdish Tytler (MP and former minister), advised Mrs Gandhi to call Gurung to teach self defense to the volunteers. Gurung then received an invitation from the Prime Minister's Office to meet Mrs. Gandhi. It was the first time when he came in contact with Indira Gandhi. There Mrs. Gandhi requested him to join Seva Dal as an instructor, and he readily accepted the offer. This gave him a vast scope of expansion and he traveled to every part of India promoting taekwondo and training Seva Dal volunteers. He is still serving as the General Secretary of the Seva Dal in New Delhi.
PAG International Taekwondo[]
""PAG International Taekwondo is a subsidiary functional body constituted under the Sports Federation of India in the patronage of Gurung. This initiative has been taken considering the untiring efforts of the Grand Master P. Andrew Gurung in establishing taekwondo in India and Nepal. He is considered as the "Father of Taekwondo in India and Nepal". The association aims to further his aspirations regarding taekwondo in upcoming generations and conserve his legacy. The association is meant to streamline taekwondo and martial arts across the nation for output maximization in terms of performing athletes.
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "GM PA Gurung inducted in 'Taekwondo Hall of Fame'". The Times of India. 7 November 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
- ^ "Grand Masters 9th Dan". ictf.
- ^ "Congress Seva Dal - Indian National Congress, Congress Party Official Website". Indian National Congress.
- ^ "About the International Taekwondo Council - International TaeKwonDo Council". www.international-taekwondo-council.com.
- ^ admin. "From the Chair".
- ^ RISING NEPAL, गोरखापत्र – 17 October 1982
External links[]
- 1949 births
- Living people
- Taekwondo in India
- Lists of people by name feature
- Founders by field
- Indian male taekwondo practitioners