India have a World Champion in Judo, what a milestone. Linthoi Chanambam is 16 years old and what she did in Sarajevo is the result of 5 years of planning, hard work, consistency and belief. She fought among the U57kg young women and was seeded 4th behind Alizada (AZE), Stella (ITA) and Russo, also from Italy.
For India Tulika Maan is the highest ranking Indian competitor among seniors, currently, sitting at number 90 on the World Ranking List at +78kg. There is a more positive story at junior level with 6 judoka inside the top 30 in their respective weight categories but only one just scraping into the top 20.
The cadet field is a whole different ball game but it’s only now that the world is sitting up to take notice. To have 9 athletes inside their weight’s top 30, including 4 among the top 20 and one safe in all event seedings at #4, we have to accept the trend. India has a new generation coming and as of August 2022, they have their first ever world champion, their first ever world medallist. It’s not a fluke. Look at the stats, the rankings, the trend. India is a new player and they intend to infiltrate the big leagues from now on.
Chanambam was over the moon with her world title: “I cannot explain now how I feel. I’m just very happy for this victory.”
From Manipur in northern India, the daughter of fish farmers, Linthoi is now fulfilling a dream she didn’t know she had until relatively recently. “I’m now in Bangalore for training. My coach is from Georgia and he has been living in India with us for the last 5 years.”
That’s the potted version but the details are important because they show vision and commitment on an unprecedented scale.
Mamuka Kizilashvili was part of the first generation of coaches to access the IJF Academy programme, many years ago now, passing both the level 1 and level 2 courses for instructors. He took what he learned, what he already knew from his own training in Georgia and combined it with his own will to succeed and the financial backing of a wealthy visionary.
Mamuka Took on this new coaching role in 2017 and moved to Bangalore in India as a result, “Linthoi was 11 and the youngest of a training group of 40 athletes. The JSW Group and owner give great funding for judo, including providing food, accommodation and education. There is a bubble for all of the judoka to stay there. Since 2017 we were all together, alongside the other 4 sports.
Shushila Devi Likmabam has been known on the circuit for many years and now she is with us too. We recruited judoka from 11-18 years old and now the group is 15-26 and we are still including new ones in the group. We travel around India to events and we visit clubs and when a talented individual is spotted we look to see if the programme would work for them and their families.”
“As for Linthoi, I really had never seen talent like hers and the excitement around her future potential is a big part of what made me stay in India for these 5 years. I really believe she can do it and go on to achieve at the highest level. Now we will take 3 weeks gap for a holiday and some rest and then we will get back to work.”
During the corona crisis we found ourselves in Georgia for a month of planned training but we found ourselves stuck there. In the end we stayed for 9 months and trained all the time. She was farming and enjoying my country while also gaining a lot of new judo experiences.”
Florin Daniel Lascau, Head Referee Director and key advocate of the IJF Academy programmes said, “Mamuka came to the IJF Academy many years ago and was one of the best students we have had. He was among the first generation and graduated with the level 1 and level 2 qualifications. Still now he feeds back to the Academy team. He was a good student and he has taken what he learned and applied it to his group and situation, becoming a very good coach. From a country with no medals, India now has medals and this is likely to be just the beginning.”
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https://play.acast.com/s/630c72w1b378f66512b134x9
https://play.acast.com/s/630c72w1b378f66512b137q3
https://play.acast.com/s/630c72w1b378f66512b114g9
https://play.acast.com/s/630c72w1b378f66512b178r5
https://play.acast.com/s/630c72w1b378f66512b157q3
https://play.acast.com/s/630c72w1b378f66512b154sd
IJF President Mr Marius Vizer commented, “I want to congratulate India for this fantastic achievement. It’s a great result for Linthoi Chanambam, for India and for the world.”
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