Judo
After 'unexpected' entry to Paris Olympics, judoka Tulika Mann ready to deliver
After qualifying for the Paris Olympics through the continental quota, judoka Tulika Mann is focused on working harder and making a mark in the Games.
Judoka Tulika Mann qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics through the continental quota. However, she never expected to make it to the Games in the 78kg class since she always believed that Avtar Singh (100kg class) and Vijay Yadav (60kg) were better placed to compete at the Games.
However, now that she has made it to the Paris Olympics, she is focused on training harder to make a mark.
“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!," exclaimed Tulika.
"But looking at my training, I am hoping I will make it the bronze medal match at least of not the final. We are training for Gold,” she told SAI Media.
Road to Paris
Tulika, who first came into the limelight after winning a silver in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, was injured after attaining the CWG feat.
It affected her bid to qualify for the Paris Olympics directly. She was also not confident of making the cut.
But a victory over Canada’s Portuondo Isasi in the Round of 32 in the World Championships in Abu Dhabi last month pitchforked her on the Olympic ranking.
“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.
However, her fifth place finishes in the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year and the Asian Championships in Hong Kong in April this year helped her rake in crucial points.
“I won three bouts each in the Asian Games and the Asian Championship. Hong Kong is when I first thought maybe I could do it,” she says, admitting that she was doubtful when she could not win a bout in two Grand Slam competitions in Dushanbe (Tajikistan) and Astana (Kazakhstan).
“The win in the World Championship helped me,” she said.
Asked who her toughest opponent would be, Tulika names China’s Su Xin. “She will be my biggest competitor as I was injured during a bout with her in the 2022 Asian Championships. I think she was the toughest competitor I have faced. France’s Romane Dicko is also a good competition. She is not as heavy as the Chinese but is quick and powerful,” she said
A part of the government’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) for some time now, she credits it for the support.
“I have got a lot of assistance from TOPS. A lot of us under TOPS get assistance to compete in events through the year to sustain our rankings. When the expenses are taken care of, we can compete without tension and can give our best,” she said.
Tulika who went agonisingly close to winning India’s sixth Judo medal in the Asian Games but lost the bronze medal match to Amarsaikhan Adiyasuren (Mongolia) in Hangzhou, will be the ninth woman Judoka from India to compete in the Olympic Games.