Just 3 weeks ago, at the Opening Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympics, Majlinda Kelmindi, carried the flag of Kosovo. An achievement and a dream come true for her and her recently liberated nation. But why so?
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February, 2008. Although most members of the European Union(EU) and the United States recognized this, Serbia, Russia and some of the EU members did not. Given this lack of international consensus, Kosovo was not immediately admitted to the United Nations (UN).
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In 2010 the International Court of Justice ruled that Kosovo’s declaration of independence did not violate international law, but Serbia rejected that decision.
Exclusion from the London Olympics(2012)
By 2012, Kosovo was recognized by 80 countries, but not by the UN or the IOC. This forced Kelmendi, to represent Albania at the London Olympics. Kosovo’s sports minister Memli Krasniqi was critical of this unfair treatment.
This decision was ironic in the sense that Yugoslavian athletes were allowed to compete under the Olympic banner at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 when the Serbian leadership in Belgrade was under international sanctions for its participation in war crimes. Kosovo was one of the targets of Yugoslav leader, Slobodan Milosevic's ethnic cleansing campaigns and 10,000 Kosovans were killed before Nato intervention forced Milosevic to withdraw his troops in 1999.
For Kelmendi, who was the 5th ranked judoka in the world, with hopes of representing Kosovo, the world came crashing down.
The athlete herself
Kelmendi was coached in her formative years, by the elite judoka, Driton Kuka. She debuted on the senior circuit in 2011. She represented Albania at the London Olympics and lost out in the second round.
But post-2013, Kelmendi has not tasted defeat. With the International Judo Federation recognizing Kosovo, in 2012, Kelmendi was able to represent Kosovo in 2013 World Championships which she duly won. And the Balkan nation had their first big superstar.
A year later she retained her world crown in Chelyabinsk (RUS) and also won the European title in Montpellier (FRA), achievements that led to her being named Judoka of the Year. Probably, Kosovo’s biggest moment arrived in October 2014 when the IOC too recognized Kosovo and the decks were cleared for Kelmendi to fulfill her dream of representing her motherland at the Olympics.
Success rarely a one-way train
Severe knee and back injuries halted this pocket dynamo’s upward rise, including forced absence from the August World Championships.
Not to be kept down on the mat for too long, Kelmendi kicked off 2016 in fine style, collecting her third European title and then winning the Paris Grand Slam, also for the third time.
Success at Rio
Riding high on confidence, Kelmendi strode like a colossus over all who came between her and an Olympic Gold.
Probably at the height of her mental and physical prowess, her precision and speed during execution of her jaw-dropping uchi-mata needs a mention along with the best moves across any contact sport. Nobody can describe her better than an opponent who has grappled with her.
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“This girl is a machine,” said France’s Priscilla Gneto after losing out to the world No1 in the final of the 2016 European Championships in Kazan (RUS) at the end of April. “When you’ve got her in your hands you can feel how physical she is. But then, at the end of the day, she’s only got two arms and two legs like the rest of us. What makes the difference is her mental strength and her desire.”
In spite of her astounding success on the mat, life’s hard experiences have taught her to always stay grounded. Even under the scrutiny of the glares of the World’s media, or amidst all the dignitaries and personalities, it is the way Kelmendi handles herself in the aftermath that will be part of the story they tell years from now. Her utterances indicate she never forgets her roots nor the principles of Judo.
Some of her quotes have been and I quote:
1. “Growing through Judo you learn a lot of things. It’s the kind of sport that teaches you have to respect for everything.”
2. “I have nothing special. I just work hard and I just have to make my dreams come true and it doesn’t make me anything different to other girls in Peja. Everybody who works hard can be successful.”
This kind of modesty and understanding of life through her sports teachings, suggests we are talking of an individual who is not just a champion athlete but a complete human being, whose life is a story of unparalleled desire to excel for herself and for her country in the most adverse of circumstances. Meanwhile, in the sporting landscape, Kosovo got embraced by the soccer governing institutions FIFA and UEFA.
The legend of Majlinda Kelmindi continues to grow.
