‘Judo is a priority sport for India’ – Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju

Indian Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju insisted on Monday that judo is a priority game for India and that the sports ministry would do everything in its capacity to provide assistance to the country’s judokas as they look to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. Rijiju further said that the government was working hard with the national federation to create a strong pool of talent for the 2024 and 2028 Oympics.

The minister made the statements during a meeting with the members of the Indian judo team at his residence ahead of their departure to Hungary for the Budapest Grand Slam which is an Olympic qualification event that will be held from October 23 to 25. The contingent comprises five judokas and coach Jiwan Sharma.

‘We will enhance training facilities and coaches’ capacity’ – Rijiju

The Budapest Grand Slam will be the first tournament for the Indian judokas since the COVID-19 lockdown. “The team is leaving for Hungary today and I am hopeful that some of the athletes will qualify. Judo is a priority sport for us and we will enhance capacity both in terms of training facilities and coaches,” Rijiju said.

“The idea is to extend full support to the elite athletes while building up a talent pool of young athletes who can compete in the Olympics of 2024 and 2028. We will discuss a more exhaustive roadmap with the federation and plan ahead,” he added.

Indian men judoka Jasleen Singh Saini, ranked 56 in the world and a good prospect to qualify for next year’s Olympics, said, “I am feeling very positive after meeting the Sports Minister. He spoke to us and shared his knowledge which is really helpful.

“This will be the first tournament we will be playing after the Covid lockdown. We used to play every month earlier, so it is really good to be playing again,” he added.

Other judokas participating in the meet are Tulika Mann, Sushila Devi, Avtar Singh and Vijay Yadav.

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