New Delhi, Oct 10 (IANS): After winning a silver medal in Jiu Jitsu Asian Continental championships in Abu Dhabi, Indias spearhead in the sport, Siddharth Singh is now aiming for the gold medal in ACB World Championship scheduled to be held in Saint Petersburg, Russia on December 14-18.
"My next target is to win a medal in the World Championship to be held in Russia in December. It's a proud moment for me to become the first Indian to win a medal in Jiu Jitsu Asian Continental championships held on October 1. I am overwhelmed to get so much support from the fans her"," Siddharth said.
Siddharth who became the first Indian to get the second position in the Asian rankings, said that it was not easy for him to compete in the Asian Continental championships.
"Despite the injuries, I was determined to compete and win a medal for India at the Jiu Jitsu Asian Championships which had never been done before. While there is no off season in our sport, I really ramped up my training 8 weeks before the tournament. I also had to reduce 5 kg to compete in the 69 kg weight category. Unfortunately, I had several setbacks going into my training camp and also at the tournament itself. 6 weeks before the tournament I broke two fingers of my left hand during training and severely sprained my right ankle 10 days before the tourn"ment," Siddharth said.
"I had the unlucky draw where I had an extra fight even before my actual bracket. I fought a veteran fighter from UAE to qualify and I won that fight 9-0 but it came at a cost where I sprained my groin. After the fight, I was taken to the medical room where the doctor told me that he didn't have adequate time to fix the injury and asked me to withdraw from the tournament. Despite these things, I won the medal. That is quite satisfying for me," he said.
"It has always been my mission to let the world know that India is not less than any other country in Jiu-Jitsu. This determination has always been my motivation to go and fight against the best fighters in the world. The target now is to win the World Championship and for that, I will leave no stone unturned," he said.