‘Want to give back to sport’

Chandigarh: Deepak Mishra is on a gold medal winning spree. In the past couple of months, the 24-year-old has clinched two yellow metals at the All India Inter University Men’s

Judo

Championship in Kanpur in March, followed by the podium finish in the 81kg category at the ongoing Khelo India University Games in Bengaluru.But Deepak’s journey hasn’t been a cakewalk, especially in a sport which is still at a nascent stage in India. In 2010, when he decided to take up the sport, not many in his native Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh would have heard about the Japanese martial art.Barring the support of a few senior judokas, Deepak, the son of a driver, found the going tough but was determined to make a mark. His dedication for the sport brought him to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Ludhiana, where he came across Nitin Sharma, a senior judoka, who later went on to become Deepak’s coach. “I started practising Judo since the age of 12. After learning the basics in my village in Madhya Pradesh, I got selected via trials in SAI Ludhiana. I started doing well there and winning medals at the state level,” he said.Nitin, who by now had joined the Lovely Professional University in Jalandhar, encouraged Deepak to enroll himself at the institute and take his craft forward. Deepak did not waste time in giving a second thought to his mentor’s advice. “I needed a proper scholarship programme to afford training. My family comes from a humble background, and my father is just a driver in MP. They always encouraged me to play sports, but my needs required financial means,” he recalls.A monthly scholarship of ₹10,000 from the university meant Deepak did not have to worry about the sponsorship part anymore, and could shift his full focus to the sport. “It was only until I reached Lovely Professional University this year that I have started receiving a regular scholarship of ₹10,000 per month, which helps me to train now,” said Deepak, whose passion for the sport is symbolised by a tattoo of the Japanese inscription of “Judo” on the back of his neck.Deepak, who had missed the previous edition of the KIUG feels that the Khelo India scholarship scheme for gold medallists will boost his confidence going forward.