Tulika Mann was surprised when she earned her maiden call-up for the Paris Olympics. However, the 25-year-old Indian judoka is unfazed by the magnitude of the quadrennial event and is all set to be at her best.
Having obtained a quota in the women’s +78kg category, Tulika will be the lone Indian representative in judo at the Paris Olympics.
She will also be the ninth female judoka to represent India at the Olympics. This achievement would not have been possible had she been deterred by her recent injury.
Battling adversity from a young age
Tulika had to negotiate challenges from an early age. When she was two and a half years old, her father, Satbir Mann, was tragically murdered over a business rivalry.
Raised by her single mother, Amrita Mann, Tulika was understandably not a calm kid, often left alone by her mother due to her demanding job as a police officer in Delhi.
Tulika endured a tough childhood marked by anger and being overweight. Her mother, Amrita, decided to revamp Tulika’s life by introducing her to judo to help her become fit and channel her anger through the sport. Little did she know that Tulika would also become calmer as a result.
Finding her calling
Tulika began training at a local academy under her first judo teacher, Sangeeta Dutta.
In the early stages of her training, Tulika had a parochial view of judo. Even though her talent was evident, there wasn’t an inner calling within Tulika to turn the sport into her passion.
She found her calling in judo when her skills were groomed by her teacher Sangeeta. However, despite being a junior national champion, Tulika was overweight.
She needed to work hard to reduce her weight and compete at the highest level. This was when she met her coach Yashpal Solanki, who trains her to this day and transformed her career.
Yashpal was impressed with Tulika’s skill. However, he was not as impressed by her lack of alacrity to gain fitness.
He had to force Tulika to come out of her comfort zone to get her in shape, which was tough in the initial stages given Tulika’s intransigent nature and her love for junk foods.
Tulika had to change her eating habits to get in shape and was contemplating competing in the heavyweight category.
Becoming regal
Having quickly understood that competing in the heavyweight category doesn’t require simply gaining weight by eating anything and everything, Tulika was made to realize by her coach that in a sport like judo, defeating an opponent depends on one’s agility, speed and strength.
This plain truth about competing at the highest level in judo motivated Tulika to work hard and hit the gym consistently. From struggling to do a squat with 40 kg on her shoulders, to completing a full rep with 120 kg, these were the initial stages of Tulika’s journey of becoming regal.
Tulika gradually improved her fitness, working her way to becoming a formidable player. Her energy on the mat was second to none as she fought her way up to becoming a national champion.
As success breeds success, her debut win at the national championships gave her the confidence to win another five national championships, thus becoming a six-time national champion.
From being overlooked to CWG silver medallist
Tulika caught the eye of the world when she won the silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. She lost the final bout in the women’s +78kg category to the 2014 CWG champion Sarah Adlington.
Despite missing out on a gold medal, this win was impressive, as Tulika had suffered a serious knee injury prior to the Commonwealth Games. The pain was aggravated during her campaign in the tournament, and it worsened when she participated in the Asian Championships in Kazakhstan.
This medal would have been elusive for India had Tulika not been included in the secondary squad for the Commonwealth Games.
Initially, the Judo Federation of India (JFI) did not pick her. However, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) decided to include her in the team after discovering numerous irregularities in the functioning of the judo federation and its selection process, which ultimately led to its suspension.
Sacrifice for Paris 2024
Tulika has now damaged all three ligaments in her knee. Despite this damaged knee Tulika won the National Games in 2022, took part in the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, where she finished fifth, secured a bronze medal in the Asian Open Championship in Taipei and took part in the Asian Championships in Hong Kong this year.
The bouts she won in these international events were crucial for accumulating points, which helped her secure a place through the continental quota in the upcoming Paris Olympics.
Tulika’s gumption to forgo surgery for the pain she is suffering until the Olympics is a testament to her courage, grit, and resilience. It reflects her determination to make her mother and the country proud.