CHENNAI: Junior judokas from the country may finally get a competition after almost two years as the Judo Federation of India (JFI) recently conducted trials to select a 14-member team (7 men and 7 women) for the Junior World Judo Championships scheduled in Olbia, Italy from October 6 to 10. The last event wherein these under-20 judokas competed was the Junior National Championships held in December 2019 at Lucknow. Incidentally, the JFI has not conducted nationals in any categories for the past two years.
The selection trials were held at IG Stadium in New Delhi from September 9 to 11. Around 750 judokas from various affiliated units of the JFI took part in the trials.
The junior worlds will be held in seven weight categories each in men's and women's sections. Besides, the event will also see mixed team competitions in three weight categories, each in both sections. The federation has not yet selected judokas for the mixed team competition.
As per the JFI's website, the participation is subject to the approval of the Sports Authority of India and procurement of visas. "In case the government does not approve the tour at its cost, the individuals have to meet all the expenses for the participation in the event and an undertaking must be submitted to JFI for the confirmation of participation/entry, soon after the selection," adds the website.
"It's good that the junior judokas from the country will get an international event soon. From the trials, winners from each category were picked for the national squad. Five judokas — two in women's section and three in men's section — from the National Centre of Excellence, Bhopal, have been picked," Yashpal Solanki, judo high performance director, from SAI centre, Bhopal, told this daily.
According to the Covid protocols, the International Judo Federation has asked participants to upload two negative PCR test certificates on their website in advance and present them on arrival to the host country. The tests are required to be made within a maximum of eight days before arrival and taken a minimum of 48 hours apart.