CWG 2022: Judoka Tulika Maan proved her critics wrong by winning silver in women’s plus 78kg event

Four months prior to the Commonwealth Games (CWG 2022), Tulika Maan was unsure whether she would get a chance to compete in Birmingham in August.

It was because the Judo Federation of India (JFI) ruled out the possibility of India winning a medal in the women’s plus 78kg category at CWG 2022.

Tulika proved her critics wrong by winning the silver medal in the plus 78kg category on Wednesday, August 3 at the same event. The Delhi-based international judo player lost to Sarah Adlington by Ippon in the closing stages of the contest.

Tulika’s silver was India's third judo medal tally in the event. Earlier, Shushila Devi won silver in the women’s 48kg, while Vijay Kumar Yadav won bronze in the men’s 60kg section. India’s Deepak Deswal couldn’t progress beyond the quarterfinal stages of the men’s 100kg group.

From fighting for her inclusion at the Commonwealth squad to staying focused on polishing her skills, it was a challenging task for the promising judo player.

How JFI's suspension helped Tulika win a medal for India at CWG 2022

The JFI was recently suspended by the sports ministry due to a violation of the 2011 National Sports Code. This resulted in an ad-hoc panel constituted by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to run the day-to-day affairs. Their decision to support Tulika and give her the chance to represent India at CWG has helped the country win another medal.

“Initially JFI had recommended women’s 63kg weight for the Commonwealth Games. But it was later replaced by plus 78kg,” national judo coach told Sportskeeda on condition of anonymity. “Silver medal in Birmingham will give a bid boost to Tuilka confidence.”

Judo discipline was allotted six quota places for the Commonwealth Games.

In the build-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, Tulika was one of five judo players given extensive international exposure to improve their global ranking points to achieve qualification for the Olympic Games. Since there was only one continental quota spot for the Indian contingent to compete in Japan, it was grabbed by Shushila Devi.

To prepare for the Commonwealth Games, SAI’s ad-hoc panel sent the national team to a six-week training stint in Madrid, Spain.

“The time was too short to focus on all the issues, nonetheless the Madrid tour has paid off,” the national coach added.