SAI judokas corner glory in national games

Anil Datt
Ludhiana, January 1

Trainees of the local training centre of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) have brought laurels to their parents and mentors by clinching medals in a national-level judo competition.

Vishal Acharya and Aryan finished at the victory podium in the National School Games and the All-India Inter-Varsity Judo Championship, respectively.

Hailing from Jhunjhunu district in Rajasthan, Vishal joined the centre here in 2016 under the residential scheme, while city-based Aryan is a trainee since 2014 under the day-boarding scheme of the SAI.

Vishal, a student of Class IX at Nav Bharti Public School, secured the bronze medal in U-17 group in the National School Games, conducted by the School Games Federation of India (SGFI), from December 15 to 19 in Gujarat.

Earlier, Vishal had bagged the silver medal in the Sub-Junior National Judo Championship held in September, 2018, in Himachal Pradesh.

Aryan, a student of BA II at Satish Chander Dhawan Government College, obtained the bronze medal in the All-India Inter-Universities Judo Championship organised at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, from December 26 to 29. He competed in the below 73-kg category. Aryan had already made his mark by finishing among position holders, winning a bronze medal in the National School Games in Delhi.

Harbans Singh, in-charge of the centre, appreciated the trainees’ achievement. He lauded SAI judo coaches, Sonia Kumari and Kishor Kumar, for their guidance.