"We are training for gold": Judoka Tulika Maan on her Olympics preparations
Jun 26, 2024
New Delhi [India], June 26 : Indian judoka Tulika Maan was concerned about her chances of qualifying for the Olympics. However, now that she has guaranteed her spot at the Paris Games, she hopes to bring home a gold. The 25-year-old has set a personal objective of at least making the bronze medal match.
Tulika secured a Paris Olympics quota for India in judo according to the latest rankings issued by the International Judo Federation (IJF) on Tuesday. The 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medallist secured the quota in the women's +78kg division through continental quota.
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"Judo has always been full of surprises and one never knows what would happen at any point of time. So one never knows what will happen that day. Look at how I made it to Paris Olympics. But looking at my training, I am hoping I will make it to the bronze medal match at least if not the final. We are training for gold," Tulika told SAI Media.
Tulika questioned her ability to qualify for the Olympics after suffering an injury in 2022. The qualifying period for the event began on June 22, 2022 and was scheduled to end on June 23, 2024. However, her victory over Portuondo Isasi of Canada in the round of 32 at the World Championships in Abu Dhabi the previous month elevated her position in the Olympic rankings.
"The journey has been exciting. My coach (Yashpal Solanki) had drawn up a calendar of events to target, but the Olympics was not part of that," she said.
Earlier, Tulika racked up 1345 ranking points during the qualification period from June 22, 2022, to June 23, 2024. She finished 36th in the standings to secure a continental quota for India.
Tulika hails from Bhopal and has been a consistent performer at the national and international levels. She took part in the 2017 World Championships in Budapest and the 2017 Tokyo World Judo Championship. She also clinched a silver medal at the Asian Open in Kuwait in 2023.
The National Olympic Committees (NOCs) have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games and athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.
For Olympic judo, NOCs will have to confirm that they will use the quota places by July 2.
