Tababi hands India first judo medal

Buenos Aires, October 8 

Tababi Devi Thangjam won a silver medal in the women’s judo at the Youth Olympic Games, becoming the first Indian judoka to win a medal in the prestigious event. She lost to Venezuela’s Maria Giminez in the final of the 44kg category.

Tababi, an Asian cadet champion hailing from Manipur, lost 0-11 in the summit showdown that lasted a little over two minutes on Sunday night. Though outclassed in the final, the Indian did very well on her way to the final, especially in the semis where she blanked Ana Viktorija Puljiz of Crotia 10-0.

Tough journey 

Like most Indian athletes, Tababi has had a tough journey. She was discouraged by her own parents to take up judo; they believed it was a sport for the boys. “I would train secretly without telling them,” said Tababi. “When they first found out, they told me to leave it. They would ask me, ‘Why are you doing judo? You might get injured. Study, or do anything but this’.”

“They tried to stop me, but I’d always run away. They would get angry, but I loved judo, particularly the fighting spirit of the sport,” she said.

As a young girl, Tababi would regularly get caught up in street brawls.  “I was a tomboy, always fought with boys, but was so weak,” she recalled . “The boys would tease me, and even the girls would beat me up.  But judo changed my life. I got stronger and suddenly everyone respected me. No one dared to challenge me anymore, even the bigger boys.” Her success has won her family over. Having won medals in a number of international competitions, she now has their full support.  And she’s making the most of it!  — Agencies 

Elsewhere 
Swimmers disappoint 

Swimming national champion Srihari Natraj could not qualify for the men’s 100m backstroke finals after finishing 9th in the semis. Nataraj clocked 56.48sec.

Hockey girls wins 

The Indian women’s hockey team defeated Austria 4-2 to get off to a winning start at the Games. India scored goals through Lalremsiami (4th, 17th minutes), skipper Salima Tete (5th) and Mumtaz Khan (16th) to register the victory on Sunday. On Monday, they beat Uruguay 2-1. The Indian boys beat Austria 9-1 on Monday.  

Mehuli misses gold by a whisker

The highly-talented Mehuli Ghosh came within a striking distance of winning a historic gold before settling for a silver medal in the women’s 10m Air-Rifle shooting event of the Youth Olympic Games on Monday. A 9.1 in the 24th and final shot, after an excellent sequence of high and mid-10s, cost her the gold as she settled for the second position with a total of 248. The 18-year-old Indian finished behind Denmark’s Stephanie Grundsoee, who scored a total of 248.7. Mehuli had topped the qualifying round with a score of 628.8, and also led the eight-woman final after 10 shots with a score of 104.3, 1.1 ahead of Stephanie.