Linthoi Chanambam creates history as she becomes the first-ever Indian Judo champion

16-year-old Linthoi Chanambam has created the history of Indian Judo as she won the Gold Medal at the Judo World Championships. The tournament was played in Sarajevo. In the Gold Medal match, the Manipur player faced Brazil's Bianca Reis in the 57-kg category on August 26. Linthoi took the early lead in the final with a "waza-ari". For the unversed, waza-ari is the second highest score a fighter can achieve in the game.

She was punished "shido" with seconds left on the clock but held out to win the match 1-0 and become the U18 world champion. For those who don't know, Shido is a minor penalty in judo. This is India's first medal in the tournament's seven editions. The first edition of the World Championship was played in 2009.

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HISTORY IS WRITTEN. 🇮🇳 IIS Judoka Linthoi Chanambam is India’s first ever Judo World Champion. ⚡️#CraftingVictories #India #Judo pic.twitter.com/oVTFaSOc5F

— Inspire Institute of Sport (@IIS_Vijayanagar) August 26, 2022

Linthoi is the most promising judoka from India in recent years. She is one of the few athletes from her sport to be part of the Indian government's TOPS programme. The Program is called Target Olympic Podium Scheme which was launched in 2014. The major objective of the scheme is to provide financial assistance and help them in their pursuit of medals in the Olympics and other international sporting events.

She has been training at JSW's Inspire Institute since 2017. Her talent was spotted at the Sub-Junior National Judo Championships in 2017, where she won gold. In the same year, she won a Gold in National Cadet Judo Championship. Later that year, she won a bronze in the Asia-Oceania Cadet Judo Championship in Beirut, Lebanon.

I don't have the words to explain the feeling: Linthoi Chanambam

After the win, the teenage prodigy said that she doesn't have the words to explain the feeling of victory. The youngster hoped that she builds after the victory. "I really don't have the words and cannot explain how I am feeling right now. I only know that I'm very happy with this victory, and I hope to build on this," said Linthoi after her feat.