 "‘Incredible feeling, I will try to win medal in Paris’: teenage Judoka Linthoi Chanambam after gold at Cadet World Champ")
Sarajevo: As a martial arts nation at the global level, India haven’t had a lot to write home about save a few medals at the Commonwealth level. But a look at 16-year-old Manipuri teenager Linthoi Chanambam does provide hope. The hope of a better future in a combat sport like martial arts. Linthoi, all of 16, landed etched her name in the history books as she became the first Indian judoka to clinch the country’s first-ever gold across any age group in the Cadet World Championships held in Sarajevo. The Manipuri judoka scripted history by defeating Brazilian Bianca Reis in the women’s 57kg category event. “I feel absolutely great. It is an incredible feeling. I feel like I did something from the bottom of my heart and here is the result,” a beaming Linthoi told during a virtual media interaction. “I started Judo in 2014 and I came to the Inspired Institute of Sports (IIS) in Bellari in October 2017. The last five years, with so much of support from everyone, my life has really changed,” she added.
HISTORY IS WRITTEN. 🇮🇳 IIS Judoka Linthoi Chanambam is India’s first ever Judo World Champion. ⚡️#CraftingVictories #India #Judo pic.twitter.com/oVTFaSOc5F
— Inspire Institute of Sport (@IIS_Vijayanagar) August 26, 2022
Linthoi, however, is forthright with the fact that had it been her father, she would not have reached where she is right now. “The academy where I was previously part of before joining IIS, was at a stone’s throw distance from my home. So, my father always accompanied me during my practice sessions,” Linthoi said. “I always wanted to take up a sport like Judo from a very young age. In fact, I love boxing and football as well. But there were quite a few Judo academies near my hometown. That’s what attracted me most about this sport and my family supported me from the very beginning,” she added. The journey, however, has been quite difficult for Linthoi, in her own words as it was not easy for to bid adieu to her parents in Imphal and come straight to Bellari in Karnataka. “It was very difficult. I always stayed with my father. The day I went to Telangana for the National Championships, my dad was crying profusely,” laughs Linthoi. “It was very difficult for me to console her father. They do have very good bonding. But, yeah, she proved, that she is an extraordinary talent and too good,” quipped her coach Mamuka Kizilashvili. Even at 16, Linthoi has many feathers in her cap. Apart from being the reining Cadet World Champion, she first won gold at the sub-junior national championship in 2018. In 2021, she clinched gold in the National Championships in Chandigarh. It was followed by another gold at Asian Cadet and Junior Judo Championships in July this year.
From strength to strength! 🔥
— Inspire Institute of Sport (@IIS_Vijayanagar) August 27, 2022
Since walking through the doors of our Institute for the first time as an 11-year-old in 2017, Linthoi Chanambam has made steady strides to the very top. ⚡️
Today, she is a WORLD CHAMPION! 🇮🇳🏅 #CraftingVictories #Judo pic.twitter.com/8S0YoxRO3v
“I first saw her in Telangana. I was part of the talent identification development program that unearths talented judokas from over India. “When I visited Manipur, I was surprised to see the passion people have for the sport there. The first time I saw her, I instantly knew that she has something in her to become a world-class athlete, although she was very young then,” recalls her coach Mamuka. “When as a coach, you start training an athlete from such a young athlete, it is very easy to mould them. It really worked for her too. She also proved it big time. “This is a historic achievement and could change Indian Judo in the coming days. Both, the Indian government and the Sports Authority of India are doing the right things to support the athletes. For instance, Linthoi was only 13 when we recommended her to SAI. And, they funded her from that very moment,” he added.
This is huge!!!
— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) August 27, 2022
15-year-old Linthoi Chanambam wins first-ever Gold for India 🇮🇳 at the World Cadet Judo Championship.
She becomes the first Indian judoka to win a medal at any age-group category of the World Championships. pic.twitter.com/pFsmBsKVdV
Linthoi’s growing up days and fights against boys The opponents of World Cadet Judo Championship gold medallist Linthoi Chanambam bore the brunt of her prowess on the mat here but not long ago her male friends in his native town in Manipur had faced the same. The 16-year-old Linthoi, who on Friday became the first Indian to win a medal in the World Championships across any age group, used to beat up boys while growing up at Mayang Imphal, around 25km from the state capital Imphal. Her helpless parents had to take the injured boys to a nearby hospital. “I took up Judo in my childhood as I believed myself to be a boy and not a girl And, as a kid, I hardly had friends who were girls. Most of them were boys,” a beaming Linthoi said during a virtual media interaction. “So, I used to fight with them a lot and ended up injuring some of them as well. My parents had to take them to the hospital, at times,” she said with a laugh. Linthoi has a humble background. Her father is a farmer and her mother is a homemaker. She has two other siblings, an older and a younger sister.
Our athletes are making a historic mark at the World Stage
— Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) August 27, 2022
At 15,Linthoi Chanambam our #TOPSAthlete (Development)scripts history to become the 1st ever World Champion from India
Judoka Linthoi bagged GOLD medal in women’s 57kg at the World Cadet Championships 2022
Keep rising pic.twitter.com/SoC4wXeX80
Impact Shorts
More ShortsLinthoi’s eyes set on Paris Olympics Linthoi has already set her sights to perform at more significant events, including the Paris Olympic Games in 2024. “I will try my best to win a medal in Paris. But, if not in Paris, I am sure I can do it at the 2028 Olympics (in Los Angeles),” Linthoi signed off. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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