Young Gun Of India

The first Indian to have ever won a medal in Olympics, Tababi Devi Thangjam is a force to reckon with.

- Mrinalini Singh

You started your tryst with judo at a young age of 16. How did this come about?

In my village, I used to get into a lot of fights, and one of my neighbours with whom I would fight was a judo player. I saw her and thought that I should also take up the sport. Initially, I started training on my own and subsequently, told my parents that I wanted to train professionally. That’s when I was scouted into the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) Judo program in 2017 and since then, my career has truly taken off.

The first Indian judoka to have ever receive a medal at the Olympics, how does it feel to have achieved this honour?

I felt very proud that I represented India at such a big stage and won a medal for my country. I had competed and won at the Asian level before, but I had no idea about what to expect competing at a global level with some of the best athletes from around the world. I aimed to win the gold, but I also took back an amazing learning experience from Argentina, where I had some great results on the way to the finals. The fact that I was given the honour of donating my judogi (judo jacket) to the Olympic Museum after my performance was just the icing on the cake.