Meet Rupa Bayor, India's First Taekwondo Athlete In World's Top 10

Rupa Bayor has scripted history as the first Indian taekwondo athlete to make it into the Top 10 Poomsae Ranking. The 23-year-old Arunachal Pradesh native is ranked No. 9 by World Taekwondo. Bayor's rise to global prominence began in 2021 when she was ranked No. 123. She scaled the index to the 42nd rank in 2022 and the 12th rank in 2023. Her track record is a testament to her discipline and unparalleled hard work.

Poomsae is a form of non-combative Taekwondo in which the athletes perform a sequence of techniques linked together into a pattern of moves to be evaluated by a panel of judges. The World Poomsae Rankings is topped by Denmark’s Eva Sandersen with 337.30 points.

How Rupa Bayor Turned Adversity Into Athleticism

Rupa Bayor grew up in Sippi, a village in the Daporijo circle of the Upper Subansiri district in Arunachal Pradesh. She lost her father when she was a toddler and grew up helping her mother in the paddy field with her four siblings. Her mother faced many struggles as she was married off young and widowed so early.

Growing up with many adversities influenced Bayor in a significant way, however, she channelled the pains into positivity. From an early age, Bayor was known for her fearless attitude and energetic spirit. Her foray into taekwondo began as a competitive young girl with a striking readiness to take on challenges. 

Bayor's maternal uncle, who is a karate master, recognised her talent and began training her in martial arts in 2015. "I was always a very unyielding and combative person. I could get into a fight at the drop of a hat," she told the Press Trust of India in May 2024, adding that her uncle helped turn the aggression into athleticism.

Bayor started professional training in 2021 at the Indo-Korean Taekwondo Academy in Mumbai with coach Abhishek Dubey. In just months, she began earning laurels and won her first international medal in Croatia in 2022. She qualified for the 2022 Asian Games in China but could not go due to a Visa setback.

Bayor won a bronze medal in the 8th Asian Taekwondo Poomsae Championships in Danang, Vietnam in April 2024. In September, she won a silver medal at the Australian Open 2024 in the Under-30 female category. Bayor hopes that she can compete at the Asian Games in Japan next and win a historic gold for India.