By B Shrikant
Birmingham, Aug 3 (IANS): Launching a superb attack at the stroke of two minutes in her semifinal bout with New Zealand's Sydnee Andrews, Tulika Maan assured India the third medal on the judo mat at the 2022 Commonwealth Games at Victoria Park, Coventry, as she stormed into the final of the women's heavyweight division (+78kg) comfortably winning two bouts in the process.
The attack at one minute and 53 seconds bagged Tulika an Ippon, the highest point bagged by a judoka in an international match that signals the end of a bout. Tulika was trailing in the bout as her opponent had bagged a Waza-ari with an attack on 57 seconds. The Indian judoka had also been warned by the referee for being passive (Shido) before she came back brilliantly to win the bout and secure a place in the final.
In the final, Tulika will meet Sarah Adlington of Scotland on Wednesday evening to decide the colour of the medal. Earlier, Shushila Devi Likmabam had won a silver medal in the women's 48 kg class while Vijay Kumar Yadav claimed a bronze medal in the men's 60kg division.
Tulika will be going for India's maiden gold medal on the judo mat as India have bagged three silver and five brone medals in judo at the Commonwealth Games so far. Judo is an optional sport at the Commonwealth Games and has been held at 1986, 1990, 2002 and 2014 editions before Birmingham.
Tulika, who got a bye in the Round of 16, started the final day of competition in the women's highest weight category with a comfortable win against Tracy Durhone of Mauritius, winning by an Ippon.
Tulika launched an attack in the first minute itself and earned a Waza-ari. She then claimed another Waza-ari in the final minutes of the three-minute normal time so win by an Ippon.
In the semifinals, Tulika got the better of Sydnee Andrews of New Zealand, launching an attack at the stroke of two minutes in normal time.
This will be the biggest medal of Tulika's career so far as the 23-year-old from New Delhi has so far bagged a gold medal in the South Asian Games in 2019 and two gold medals in Commonwealth Championships in 2019.