GANDHINAGAR: As expected, judoka Tulika Maan, the 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medallist, won the +78kg gold in the ongoing National Games at the Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar on Friday. The Delhi judoka beat Kanwarpreet Kaur of Punjab to clinch the yellow metal.
However, her real test begins now as she will fly to Delhi on Saturday morning to catch a flight for Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where the World Championships started on Thursday. She will be the lone judoka from the country to compete in the event as Sunibala Devi, who won 63kg gold here in Gujarat, pulled out of the event given the schedule of the Games.
The biggest concern for Tulika is her injured left knee. She has torn ACL, MCL and meniscus apart from fractured rib at the left side. "I was suggested surgery by the doctors. It's painful but if I undergo an operation now then it will be difficult to feature in the upcoming events including the Asian Games," she told this daily after finishing on top of the podium.
As per the draws, Tulika is scheduled to meet Radic Tina of Croatia in her first bout at the Worlds. The event offers qualification points for the 2024 Paris Olympics making it important for Tulika. Athletes can earn up to 2,000 ranking points if they win the title at the Worlds. "It's a great opportunity to earn qualification points but it all depends on how I perform there, especially with the injured knee," she added. Tulika's bout is scheduled for October 12, the last day of the competition.
Meanwhile, Vijay Kumar Yadav of Uttar Pradesh, who won bronze at the Birmingham CWG, beat Harsh Singh of Delhi to pocket 60kg gold. Haryana's Ashish Sangwan and Sachin Singh Rawat of Uttarakhand won a bronze medal each in the category.
Boxers Shiva, Simranjit in quarters
World Boxing Championships medallists Simranjit Kaur of Punjab and Assam's Shiva Thapa outclassed their respective opponents, and advanced to quarterfinals. Simranjit looked in ominous form in the women's 60kg class as she unsettled 2019 National Championship bronze medallist Rinki Sharma from Uttar Pradesh. The 2018 Worlds bronze medallist dominated the proceedings against the 23-year-old Rinki, who looked clueless across the three rounds.
Known for his nimble footwork, Shiva warmed up in style by recording a 5-0 unanimous verdict win over Aniket J Pandey. The Gujarat boxer was no match to the five-time Asian Championships medallist.
World Youth champion Sachin Siwach (Haryana) also progressed to the last eight in the 57kg after dishing out a clinical show. Similarly, Asian Championship bronze medalist Saweety Boora (Haryana) got off to a winning start in the Women’s 75kg division.
Two more gold for swimmer Sajan
Karnataka's Hashika Ramachandra and seasoned Sajan Prakash of Kerala added two more gold medals to their respective tally to pull away from the rest of aspirants for the coveted National Games' 'Best Athlete' trophy. With the two medals on Friday, Hashika has now clinched six gold while Sajan has bagged five yellow metals so far.
Fourteen-year-old Hashika won gold in the women's 400m freestyle and 200m individual medley to finish her campaign with six gold and a bronze. Similarly, Sajan asserted his supremacy in the pool despite the challenges thrown by Srihari Nataraj and Advait Page. The most experienced male swimmer on view snatched the 400m freestyle from Advait (Madhya Pradesh) and the 200m individual medley from Karnataka's S Siva.