Being an underdog is a blessing, says Garima Chaudhary

It was a great moment for Garima Chaudhary when she qualified for the London Olympics. The 22-year-old is the sole judoka representing India at the Games. Garima, ranked 88th in the world, secured the continental quota spot. “It is an ultimate dream for any player to be part of Olympics. And to top it all I’m the only member representing India in judoka over here,” said the Meerut girl.

Chaudhary admits that there is a lot going through her mind. “I will give it my best shot. It’s not possible to predict anything in judo.

The slightest error can change the course of a match,” she said.Garima qualified in the 63kg weight category, based on the latest rankings released by the International Judo Federation (IJF) on May 6.

While addressing the fact about the media not covering too many judo matches, Chaudhary says that it is a blessing in disguise.

“I’m happy going as an underdog. I have nothing to lose. I have performed well in the past and will be noticed.”

Garima has consistently participated at the international level, beginning with the Paris World championships last year. This was followed by the Warsaw World Cup and the Asian championship in Tashkent earlier this year.

As the Games are less than a week away, Garima faces no pressure and is waiting for Olympics to begin. Garima has already trained in Germany and is now currently training in France. Garima is undergoing a more competition-oriented training, studying her opponents, and focusing on specific fitness keeping in mind the number of matches she will play.

She is fully aware of the competition in the games. “All the participants have an equal chance of doing well. You cannot take anyone lightly, as there is a knockout system in judo. I don’t know who I’ll be competing against. The participants are the 23 best judo players in the world at the moment and every wants to win.”

According to coach, Jiwan Sharma, self-belief and hard work and her attitude to win are her major strengths that she possesses. Both of them, however, believe that had she received this kind of exposure before, her training style would have been different. “I thank the judo federation and the government for accepting my proposal. Had she received such exposure earlier, she would have been better,” admits Sharma.