Gurdaspur judoka earns India berth for Commonwealth & Asian Games
For ace judoka Karanjit Singh Maan, a new day comes with new strength and new thoughts of how to conquer his opponents — and his own fears.
A five-time senior national champion in the 90-kg weight category, he is on the cusp of playing in the 2026 Commonwealth Games slated to be held in Glasgow in July and the Asian Games to be held in Nagoya (Japan) in September.
He knows that the Asiad will be more exacting, testing players’ endurance and mental fortitude, making the event an intense test of skill and resilience as compared to the Commonwealth Games.
His coaches reckon him to be a sure shot medal contender in both the events.
Maan made a massive splash in the world of judo by winning gold in the 2015 Commonwealth championship held in Jaipur. He took part in the 2021 World Police Games at Winnipeg and won the gold in the 2025 Alabama edition of the games. His only regret is that he missed the bus by the proverbial whisker for the Tokyo Olympics.
In the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, he qualified only to have the mortification of seeing his weight category deleted by the JFI at the eleventh hour. Till today, neither he nor his coaches have understood why only his weight class was given the bypass. Whenever he reminisces about the incident, he gets upset. “Let bygones be bygones,” he says.
The man is not afraid of challenges or contests. He has already smothered many a turbulence that in any case is an integral part of any top sportsman’s professional career. “Building mental toughness through daily routines, such as positive self-talk and focusing on fundamentals, helps me navigate these challenges. My wife, Navjot Kaur, an officer in the Agriculture Department, always tells me before an important competition that a single loss does not define an athlete’s worth and to treat setbacks as learning experiences, not personal failures,” he says.
Over the years, he has developed the ability to persist through mistakes and failure. Failure serves as a fuel for his future performances.
Maan is a trainee of the famed Shaheed Bhagat Singh Judo Centre which has produced nearly 40 international judokas and innumerable national level players. Georgian coach Lasha Kizilashvili, who visited the training centre in December, said he was at a loss to comprehend how a training utility, functioning from just one hall in a small city like Gurdaspur and where players practise on worn out mats, could produce so many international judo players. “It remains an enigma for me how it has become a conveyor belt for producing top class judokas in India,” he reckoned.
An alumnus of Little Flower Convent School, Gurdaspur, Karanjit completed his graduation from Kurukshetra University. While at school, his coaches, Kuljinder Singh, Ravi Kumar and Amarjit Shastri, all firm believers in the adage ‘catch them young’, spotted his inherent talent and nurtured it in a professional manner.
He is employed as an ASI with Punjab Police and is posted in Jalandhar (Rural) district.
Shared resilience
"My wife Navjot Kaur...always tells me before an important competition that a single loss does not define an athlete’s worth, and to treat setbacks as learning experiences, not
personal failures."
– Karanjit Singh Maan, judoka & ASI
