Beating All Odds: Judoka Shushila Devi Clinches Silver Medal At CWG 2022

Indian judoka Shushila Devi signed off with a silver medal in women’s 48kg at the Commonwealth Games on Monday. The 27-year-old Shushila fought hard before losing the final via ‘Waza-Ari’ in the 4.25-minute final against South Africa’s Michaela Whitebooi. For Shushila, it was her second silver medal at the showpiece event. She had finished runners-up at the 2014 Glasgow games as well.

A sub-inspector with Manipur Police, Shushila had progressed to the final, beating Priscilla Morand of Mauritius. She had beaten Harriet Bonface of Malawi on way to her quarterfinals earlier in the day.

Shushila Devi wins silver medal

To congratulate on her win Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, "Elated by the exceptional performance by Shushila Devi Likmabam. Congratulations to her on winning the Silver medal. She has demonstrated remarkable skill and resilience. Best wishes for her future endeavours."

The judoka expressed happiness over her achievement while also stating that she would have bagged a gold medal had she not been injured during her practice session.

“I wanted to win gold but could not win it. I ignored my leg injury and focused on my game. I dedicate this medal to our country’s people and Judo India," Shushila Devi told Asian News International.

Beating tough times

Shushila's story is nothing short of an inspirational tale, marred by financial crunch, she beat tough times and soared high.

Born in a family where her parents used to farm vegetables and sell whatever was left as excess, Shushila would take loans and travel around the world trying to excel at her sport. She now trains out of the JSW-backed Inspire Institute of Sport in Vijaynagar.

The Olympic dream

In 2018, Shushila set her sights on the Asian Games and was hoping that a medal there would finally bring better fortunes. But her hamstring tore during the trials and she had to give up on that dream as well, reports The Indian Express.

For a sportsperson, qualifying for the Olympics is the ultimate prize and a few months after the Asian Games setback, she spoke to coach Jiwan Sharma about her financial situation. Sharma then set up tickets for her, talked to her sponsors and convinced them that she was an athlete worth backing. Suddenly, she was back on track – this time with the goal of reaching the Tokyo Olympics.

However the pandemic hit and the entire world came to a halt. All competitions and qualification events were either postponed or team members got Covid-positive during the Asia-Oceania trials. But Shushila managed to qualify for the Tokyo Games, becoming the only Indian to be a part of the Judo event. In Tokyo, she finished 17th but had already won a battle just by reaching there.

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