23yo forester Navya Pandey wins South Asian ju-jitsu gold, beats Pak’s Rishaal Khan

Dehradun: Navya Pandey, a 23-year-old forester with the Uttarakhand forest department, clinched a gold medal at the South Asian Ju-Jitsu Championship held in Digana, Sri Lanka, this month. She defeated Pakistan’s Rishaal Khan in the 48 kg category to secure the honour.Pandey, who joined the department under the sports quota nearly two years ago and is currently posted at Uttarakhand Forestry Training Academy in Haldwani, received financial support from the department to participate after she expressed that she lack funds forparticipation.The forest department thereafter provided her Rs 1.5 lakh as per service rules.Highlighting the benefits of the state’s sports quota policy, Pandey said, “The policy of not disturbing the service person inducted under the sports quota for a period of five years is praiseworthy because it gives us time to prepare and practice.”She pointed to financial constraints as a major challenge. Pandey credited her coach Vinay Kumar Joshi for her success and said her parents, RK Pandey and Bharti Pande remain her inspiration. Pandey has alsowon gold medals at World Duo Championship in 2021 and 2022, along with five national-level gold medals in Ju-Jitsu since 2017.