The 16-year-old Linthoi is the first Indian to win a medal in the World Championships across any age-group.

The 16-year-old Linthoi, who recently became the first Indian to win a medal in the World Championships across any age-group, used to beat up boys while growing up at Mayang Imphal, around 25km from state capital Imphal.

Her helpless parents had to take the injured boys to nearby hospital.

“I took up Judo in my childhood as I believed myself to be a boy and not a girl And, as a kid, I hardly had friends who were girls. Most of them were boys,” a beaming Linthoi said during a virtual media interaction.

“So, I used to fight with them a lot and ended up injuring some of them as well. My parents had to take them to the hospital, at times,” she said with a laugh.

Corona started from China at the end of 2019. By March 2021, it had spread all over the world. The Judo International Grand Prix was to be held in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, in the month of March itself. The players had reached there to participate in the tournament, only then the lockdown started all over the world. Then the tournament had to be cancelled. Everything closed. Flight got cancelled. Then the 13-year-old judoka Linthoi Chanambam along with her fellow players Dev Thapa and Jasleen Saini got stuck there and did not even have money.

There she didn’t even have a phone. she could not talk to her parents at home. Linthoi Channambam did not even know when she would be able to return to her country. Then there is the entry, Mamuka Kizilashvili. Kizilashvili is counted among the top judo coaches in Georgia. He not only opened the doors of his house for Indian players but also gave training. He also helped Indian players in finding work. Linthoi Chanambam lived in Georgia for 8 months.

Linthoi was born in a farmer family in Imphal, Manipur. Along with his father, uncle was very much in love with sports. For this reason, he was inspired to play the game from the very beginning. In an interview, Linthoi had told that he was treated like a boy at home.

Even before this, Linthoi Channambam has achieved many big achievements in her short career. In the National Cadet Judo Championship held in 2021, he had a gold medal in his name. She has also won gold at the 2022 Asian Cadet and Judo Junior Championships. He won the bronze medal in the Asia-Oceania Cadet Judo Championship.