Gurdaspur judokas win 12th consecutive sub-junior title

Dominance does not come from size or strength, but from a state of mind. This is what is imbibed in the minds of young players as Gurdaspur district won the overall title for the 12th successive time in the Punjab Sub-Junior Judo Championships, creating a record of sorts in the process.

The meet concluded in Jalandhar on October 11. It also acted as trials to select the Punjab team which will perform duty in the National Sub-Junior Championships to be held in Hyderabad from November 16 to 20.

Incidentally, five of the nine players selected for the Hyderabad meet are from Gurdaspur. All are trainees of the famous Shaheed Bhagat Singh Centre, an entity which has produced participants in the Olympics, World Police and World University Games, Asian Games, Asian Championships, Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Championships.

The selected players are Shivam Sharma (30 kg category), Piyush (35 kg), Bhavjot Singh (55 kg), Harbir Singh (60 kg) and Kavish Mahajan (66 kg). The team ended the Jalandhar championship with a total of 11 medals including seven gold, two silver and three bronze. "You are braver than you think, more talented than you know and capable of doing even more than what you are now," coach Ravi Kumar often tells his pupils.

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