7 Aug 2004 14:50
Inside news
Indian judoka slugging it out in Japan
15 Jul 2004 13:45
Emmeric Le Person
Akram Shah will seek his share of spotlight when Olympic judo competitions begin in Athens. Shah, the lone Indian judoka to have qualified for the Olympics, is currently sweating it out in Japan to fine-tune his skills for the big test. He will participate in the 60kg category.
The training stint of the Delhi-based judoka is in final stretch and will end on July 24, according to sources in Judo Federation of India.
Shah, who booked his berth to the Summer Games on the basis of the accumulated points, had already undergone training in Uzbekistan from June 25 to July 8. Shah, who finished 9th in the Asian judo meet in Almaty in May, was cleared for training abroad on the basis of no cost to the government.
A gold medallist at the senior Nationals, the 30-year-old had finished 7th at the Busan Asian Games and won a bronze at the Asian judo championships in Korea in November last year.
"Everything depends on the draw. If he (Akram) gets a good draw, then he can reach the medal round," Gurcharan Gogi, one of the JFI coaches, said.
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