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Big-time judo action will return to the Northeastern city of Imphal, Manipur as the 2013 National Sub-Junior Judo Championship commences at the Khuman Lampa Indoor Stadium on Tuesday.
The five-day event is being organized by the Manipur Judo Association (MJA) under the auspices of the Judo Federation of India (JFI).
The hilly state, with Manipur works minister Kh. Ratankumar Singh as the organising chairman, is straining its last nerve to ensure a smooth conduct of the national event, which assumes a lot of importance as it will serve as a selection trials for boys and girls teams for various international competitions in the future.
As many as thousand judokas from 25 states are expected to battle for glory as all roads in the Imphal city will lead to the Khuman Lampa Indoor Stadium as it is not always that such big-ticket events are held in this neck of the woods.
The Judo Federation of India (JFI) elected Mukesh Kumar as its new president at its recent AGM. Mukesh Kumar, a former Sports Authority of India (SAI) official, who earlier served as JFI secretary, replaced Jagdish Tytler, who has served as JFI president for many years.
The 2012 National Sub-Junior Championships was held at the Desgbhakta Tarun Ram Phookan Indoor Stadium, RG Baruah Sports Complex, Guwahati last October.
The event was organized by All Assam Judo Association under the aegis of Judo Federation of India.
At the 2012 edition, Manipur emerged as the overall champions, picking up 15 medals – 7 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze, while Haryana finished runners-up bagging 12 medals including six gold.
The Judo Federation of India (JFI) has been focusing a lot on the Northeast region in a bid to tap new talents as states like Manipur and Assam have been producing quality judokas from time to time.
The JFI has drawn up plans to conduct various developmental programmes including ‘Judo for peace’ in Manipur.
Newly elected JFI president Mukesh Kumar said Manipur has a hub of talented judokas and the federation will do everything it can to groom state judokas keeping in mind the 2016 and 2020 Olympics among other major international events.
