Indian Judoka Shushila Likmabam becomes 5th Athlete from Manipur to get Tokyo Olympics Ticket

Likmabam Sushila, a judoka, has become the fifth Manipuri player to be selected to represent India at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, owing to a continental quota. 

Sushila qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Judo in the -48 kg class, according to the International Judo Federation, on June 21. Sushila and a Punjab player were competing for the continental quota, but Sushila won since she just secured 20 points at the World Judo Championship held in Hungary, giving her a total of 1008 points. 

Sushila, who lost her first round in the 48kg category at the World Judo Championships in Budapest on Sunday, now has 989 points, placing her seventh on the Asian list.  

"I congratulate Judoka #SushilaDevi for qualifying for #Tokyo2020 in the women's 48 kg through the continental quota. Our athletes are putting their best efforts to ensure glory for India," tweeted Union Sports Minister, Kiren Rijuju. 

Likmabam Sushila became the fifth athlete from the state of Manipur to be selected to represent India in the Olympic Games, one of the most renowned and extravagant sports events on the globe. The other Manipuri Olympians are MC Mary Kom (boxing: 51 kg), Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (weightlifting: 49 kg), Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam (women's hockey), and Shanglakpam Nilakanta (men's hockey). 

The continental quotas are distributed depending on a judoka's regional rating. There are ten quota spots available in Asia. 

Shusila, who began judo at a young age, has won several medals and honours for Manipur and India, and has competed in as many as 14 international judo tournaments. 

Sushila earned gold medals at the Senior National Judo Championship-2014, the 2015 National Games in Kerala, the All India Police Judo Cluster Championship-2018, and the Senior National Championship-2019 in Visakhapatnam.

Sushila's international accolades include gold medals in the Commonwealth Judo Championships in Singapore in 2010 and the Asian Youth Judo Championships in Lebanon in 2011 (with the best judoka award), as well as a silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Scotland.

She also won gold in the 2016 Asian Games in Shillong and Guwahati, the 2018 Commonwealth Judo Championship in India, the 8 South Asian Judo Championship in Nepal in 2018, the Asian Judo Open 2019 in Hong Kong, and the Commonwealth Judo Championship-2019 in England. In the Asian Judo Open World Ranking Event held in 2018 in Hong Kong, she won silver. 

The Judo Federation of India, on the other hand, stated that it would wait for the final list. 

"This (International Judo Federation's list) may change and it will be final only on June 28," a source from the Judo Federation of India (JFI) told PTI.

Only one athlete from each NOC (National Olympic Committee) can qualify for each level. Through the continental quotas, each NOC is only entitled to one slot. 

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