CHENNAI: The interim Judo Federation of India’s plan to conduct a national camp in Japan ahead of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games got the nod from the sports ministry. The national camp in Japan would act as both training-cum-exposure as well as acclimatization ritual. According to interim JFI president Mukesh Kumar, the main objective of the camp was not just to give the three-member Asian Games team enough time to train and acclimatize in Japan but also extend it to other players as well.
Kumar said that India’s Commonwealth Games champion, Harsh Singh, is on a rise and recently at a Grand Slam event in Lausanne he managed to gain valuable points to be placed as World No 84, the highest ranked Indian male player. He will be eligible to compete at the World Championships to be hosted in Baku, Azerbaijan, from October 4 to 11. Apart from the Asian Games, Kumar said that the camp would help all athletes who would be part of the World Championships as well.
Asian Games-bound judo team that includes Commonwealth Games champion in women’s below 48kg Asmita Dey, Yamini Mourya (below 57kg) and Inunganbi Takhellambam (below 70kg) would be attending a national camp in Japan’s Tsukuba University. The Sports Authority of India has an MoU with the university and was approved as part of the ACTC. As on date, there will be 10 women and one man in the camp and three coaches.
“We have limited it to just Worlds and three Asian Games players,” he said. “There will be three coaches (could be among those approved by the sports ministry for AG). We will seek help from the university regarding support staff and other training facilities. For girls, they will have sparring partners among themselves. The university level players there are very good and also players from other countries come for practice.” Kumar felt this could be a good opportunity for players since Tsukuba is considered one of the top universities for the sport.
Though he did not want to single out any individual, Kumar felt Harsh, Asmita and Inunganbi are very talented and have good potential for the future. “I won’t predict medals, but it will be a big exposure for all the judokas,” he said. The official also said that Japan would be an ideal place for the judokas to train. “Facilities are very good and we will get good sparring partners,” said Kumar.
Kumar said that Commonwealth Games champion Harsh gained valuable points in Lausanne and is expected to perform well at the Worlds where Top 100 ranked players in each of the weight categories of senior and top 16 in junior categories are eligible to compete.
Nine Indian female judo players also have excellent global ranking points and are ranked below 100 in senior and 16 in junior of their respective weight groups (as on August 31). Commonwealth Games champ Asmita will lead the ten-member women’s team with L Nunshithoi Chanu and Kh Taibanganbi from the juniors Top 16 side.
Asian Games squad: Asmita Dey (below 48kg), Yamini Mourya (below 57kg) and Inunganbi Takhellambam (below 70kg).
Indian squad for pre World Judo Championships camp in Japan: Men: Harsh Singh (below 60kg). Women: Asmita Dey (below 48kg), Shraddha K Chopade, L Nungshithoi Chanu (below 52kg), Yamini Mourya (below 57kg), Linthoi Chanambam, Unnati Sharma, Himanshi Tokas (below 63), Takhellambam Inunganbi, KH Taibanganbi (below 70kg), Ishroop Narang (below 78kg).