Chandigarh
30 July 2019
DIVYA AZAD
Khushi Pandey and Keshav Kunal Pandey, both students of I S Dev Samaj Senior Secondary School, Sector 21, Chandigarh have been selected for ‘Belt and Road International Judo Tournament’ which is going to be held at Yiwu City, China from August 1.
Both students along with their team coach Bhagwan Singh and team manager Govind Singh will depart on Wednesday for China.
16 countries like India, China, South Korea, North Korea, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, UAE, Kazakhstan etc from across the world will participate in the tournament. The Judo tourney which will start on August 1 will culminate on August 5.
In the tournament, 16-year-old, Keshav Kunal Pandey will compete in U-60 kg weight category, while 16-year-old Khushi Pandey will participate in U-40 kg category.
Keshav, who started judo at the age of 8, has been persistently winning the Gold medal in the State Judo Championship for the last six years and is very excited to don the Indian colours at the International tourney.
He said, “It’s for the first time that I will be competing at an International level and am waiting excitedly to compete in the tournament. I am confident of a good performance.”
Keshav added, “I am grateful to my coach Bhagwan Sir and also Govind Sir, who have not only coached me but have acted like mentors. It’s their guidance which has made me a good judoka”
Khushi Pandey, an interschool and state champion said, “Representing your country always gives you a great feeling, which you can’t describe in words. I am not nervous but a bit excited to compete in the tournament. I will play my natural game and will try to execute the strategy, which we have learned during the preparation.”
Bhagwan Singh, a judo coach said, “It’s for the first time that both players representing India in this tournament are from I S Dev Samaj Senior Secondary School. As soon as we got the invitation to participate in the event, we pulled up our socks from the very first day. During the preparation, we worked hard on the judokas’ skill sets, strength and conditioning. Am hopeful that they will secure a medal.”
Govind Singh, team manager added , “Khushi and Keshav are both exceptionally talented players. It’s a good opportunity for both players to compete with foreign players and to showcase their talent.”
Loveleen Bedi, Principal of I S Dev Samaj School and Sabeeha Dhillon Mangat, Chief Coordinator congratulated and gave the young judokas their best wishes.
