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.
This story is from the September 2019 edition of FHM India.
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This story is from the September 2019 edition of FHM India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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