Inspired By Lasha Bekauri, Debutant Harsh Tokas Chases India's first CWG Judo Gold
Drawn to combat sports since childhood and inspired by two-time Olympic champion Lasha Bekauri of Georgia, Indian judoka Harsh Tokas is dreaming of creating history by winning India's first ever Commonwealth Games gold medal in judo.
Drawn to combat sports since childhood and inspired by two-time Olympic champion Lasha Bekauri of Georgia, Indian judoka Harsh Tokas is dreaming of creating history by winning India's first ever Commonwealth Games gold medal in judo on his debut in Glasgow. The 23-year-old, who will compete in the men's 81kg category, discovered judo at the age of 10 after joining a free academy in Delhi's Munirka village. More than a decade later, the Commonwealth Games represent the biggest stage of his career, and Tokas is determined to settle for nothing less than the top step of the podium.
"I started judo about 12 years ago when I was around 10 or 11 years old. I am from Munirka village in Delhi. There is an academy in our village run by our coach, he opened it for children free of cost so that anyone could come and train. That is where my journey began," he told PTI during an interaction.
"I liked combat sports from a young age. There was a judo academy near my home and the environment attracted me. I used to enjoy competing and challenging myself, and that is how my judo career started," he added.
"The only thing on my mind is to win a gold medal. I want to win a gold medal for my country and make everyone proud." The Indian judoka team has, however, started on the wrong foot even before landing in Glasgow due to two doping-related suspensions, including last edition's silver-medallist Tulika Maan for whereabouts failure.
Tokas said the education he received at the Vijaya Bharat Foundation has ensured that he is well informed about clean sport and his responsibilities as an athlete.
"While training at VBF (Vijaya Bharat Foundation), we attended special anti-doping awareness sessions. In those classes, we were taught how to manage our diet, what precautions to take, and how to complete our whereabouts requirements on time," he said.
"We were educated about all these important aspects of being a professional athlete, and those lessons have stayed with us. We were taught to follow the right path and compete cleanly," he noted.
Despite Glasgow being his Commonwealth Games debut, Tokas insists he is not feeling any pressure, crediting months of intensive preparation for giving him the confidence to compete against the best.
"There is no pressure. If your training is going well, most of the pressure goes away. For the last two to three months, I have been training at a level I had never reached before," he said.
"I will give my 100 per cent, 200 per cent, even 500 per cent. Winning a medal is my dream and I want to fulfil it. This is the biggest dream of my life. I have given 12 years to this sport, and now the opportunity is in front of me. I want to make it count," he said.
"The only thing in my mind is to win a gold medal. I want to win a gold medal for my country and make everyone proud." Having followed Bekauri since childhood, Tokas said meeting the Georgian Olympic champion during his training stint in that country was a memorable experience, as he sought advice on improving his technique.
"My inspiration is Georgian judoka Lasha Bekauri, who is an Olympic champion. I met him in Georgia. I have followed Bekauri since childhood and know the journey he took to become an Olympic champion. His style is something I admire, and he is one of my favourite athletes," Tokas said.
"Yes, I spoke with him in Georgia. He had undergone an operation and was not training at the time, but we met there and had some conversations, I asked him about his techniques and how they improved.
"He told me that mastering my best techniques would help me win consistently," he fondly remembered. PTI HS PM PM PM
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