Lone Indian judoka hopes for a memorable Olympic at Athens

The name of Akram Shah may not ring a bell among sports followers across the country but the lone Indian judoka at Athens is not ready to lament that. ''Forget me. In a land where cricket rules the roost, even the stars in the so called 'minor sports' lose their identity. I'm the last person to lose sleep over it. Instead, I got a huge responsibility to lead India's challenge in judo at Athens and I'm focussing only on that,'' he told UNI.

Akram had qualified for the event in the 60 kg category at Athens during the Asian Judo Championships held at Almaty, Kazakhstan in May this year. Though he lost his second round bout, the points he accumulated there were enough to book a berth for Athens.

Akram fetched India's first ever judo silver at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester and finished seventh in the Busan Asian Games. He also bagged the bronze at the Asian Championship in Jeju, South Korea last year.

Under a one month programme, the judoka went to train for two weeks in Japan and then in Uzbekistan this year.

''I learnt a lot abroad during the training, especially because both the countries are judo super powers. Unfortunately back home, you don't get to know about the latest changes in techniques and I was amazed by their technical prowess,'' said an awe-struck Akram.

While Asian countries like Japan, Korea and China are technically superior, the Russian judokas score over because of sheer power, he observed.

''This is my first Olympic and I just want to give it my best to make it memorable. I know whining about lack of infrastructure in the country won't help my preparation. It's a bliss that there won't be any pressure on me to perform. I can concentrate on my game. Instead of any pressure form outside, it would be my own urge to excel that would bring out the best in me,'' added Akram.