He has not only vaulted 130 spots in the world rankings after just six tournaments but has also become India’s first judoka in a decade to seal an Olympic berth, laments lack of government support
Avtar Singh, Indiau00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u0099s first judoka at the Olympics, clinched the gold medal at the South Asian Games in Guwahati recently
New Delhi: He has not only vaulted 130 spots in the world rankings after just six tournaments but has also become India’s first judoka in a decade to seal an Olympic berth.
Avtar Singh, India’s first judoka at the Olympics, clinched the gold medal at the South Asian Games in Guwahati recently
Avtar Singh is unhappy with the lack of proper support from the government until his qualification.
Avtar missed the bronze medal at the Asian championship in Uzbekistan last month, but the 24-year-old is confident of putting up a brave fight in Rio de Janeiro.
Risking it all
"Until I booked the Rio berth, there was absolutely no support from the government. My parents risked all their hard-earned savings on me, they had cashed their fixed-deposits to book my tickets to the Samsun Grand Prix in Turkey in April," said Avtar, who clinched the gold at the South Asian Games in Guwahati.
"But after that, I managed to get some assistance as I was sent to Georgia for international training. It felt good to be recognised finally."
Despite all the hardships, the 6 feet 4 inch judoka said his performance will not be impacted by the lack of exposure and he is all set to give his 100 percent.
"When I travelled to Tashkent, I didn’t expect to qualify for Olympics. I gave my best for that fifth spot. (Iranian) Saeed Moradi was highly rated but I managed to beat him," he said, while thanking his sponsors, Tata Salt.
"My preparation was for a medal, which unfortunately no one believed in me, except my parents and my coach (Yashpal Solanki) but I stayed positive which really paid off."
Asked about his inspiration, the burly Punjab Police sub-inspector was quick with his reply, "The national flag is my only inspiration.
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