Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Vijay Kumar Yadav won a bronze medal in the judo men's- 60kg final at the Commonwealth Games 2022 on Monday.
Vijay Kumar Yadav's campaign got underway with an impressive 10-0 victory over Mauritian judoka Winsley Gengaya. However, Joshua Katz overcame him in the quarterfinals. Yadav continued his adventure by competing in the repechage round for the bronze medal.
Vijay Kumar Yadav defeated Dylan Munro of Scotland in the first match of the repechage round to advance to the bronze medal match against Petros Christodoulides.
At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Judoka Yadav won India's eighth medal, becoming the second athlete from a sport other than weightlifting to the podium.
"If I could, I'd change the colour of my medal to gold"
While expressing his emotions, Judoka Vijay told the Free Press on Phone from Birmingham (UK), 'To be honest, I wanted to win gold this time, But I'll surely rectify my mistakes in my next championship. If I could, I'd change the colour of my medal to gold. I'll work harder next time and surely bring gold.'
When asked about his parent's reaction, he told the FPJ, 'I talked to them a few minutes ago, and they are delighted. They are feeling proud'.
Earlier, In 2018, Kumar won a bronze medal in the Asian Open in Hong Kong. In 2019 and 2018, he won the Commonwealth Championships in Jaipur and Walsall, respectively. Judoka has won numerous senior and junior Indian championships. In 2019, he received a Lakshman state honour. He won medals at the Asian Cadet Championships as a cadet and in 2017 as a senior, and he finished sixth. The IJF World Tour is where he competes. In 2019, he won the bronze medal at the Asian Open in Hong Kong.
(Contributed by Minal Tomar)
