Manipur’s Linthoi Chanambam becomes first Indian ever to be crowned Judo world championship 2022

Manipur’s Linthoi Chanambam won a historic gold medal in the World Cadet Judo Championship 2022, in Sarajevo, becoming the first athlete from the country to win a medal in the tournament across any age group.

In the women's 57kg competition held in the city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the 15-year-old Manipur native overcame Brazil's Bianca Reis to take first place on the podium.

The Manipur teenager took the early lead in the final bout with a waza-ari. While she managed to get in the final to win the match 1-0 as she becomes India’s first ever U18 world champion in the sport of Jud.

The 15-year-old has been one of the best judokas from India in the past couple of years and is also part of the Indian government’s TOPS programme. She came into the spotlight with a gold medal at the Sub-Junior National Judo Championships in 2017 and since then she has been training at JSW’s Inspire Institute of Sports judo programme. 

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She began India's medal tally at the Asian Cadet & Junior Judo Championship 2022 in Bangkok in July by winning a gold medal on the third day of the competition. Linthoi won the gold medal in the 63 kg category of the cadet competition.