Meet Janki, Who Did India Proud By Winning a Bronze at Blind Judo Championship in Tashkent

Janki Goud, a resident of Jabalpur District, Madhya Pradesh could have never imagined giving flight to her dreams and stepping out of her village, let alone the country. Visually impaired since birth, her parents were scared to let Janki step out of the house, worried about her safety. It was in 2010 that Sightsavers along with its NGO partner Tarun Sanskar took Janki under its wings. There has been no looking back for the feisty champion ever since.

In her little steps towards victory, Janki became aware of her rights and became independent with Sightsavers training and intervention. Since 2014, she has been trained in self-defence and Judo. She decided to take the sport seriously and trained to participate in National championships. In 2016 and 2017, Janki secured silver and gold medals respectively at the Fourth and Fifth National Judo Championship for Deaf & Blind.

The exemplary performance at the sport made her one of the 14 contestants to represent India at the Judo Asian & Oceania Championship held at Tashkent, Uzbekistan from 22nd to 29th May 2017. She led the team of 14 participants from five different states of India, defeating Thailand, Korea and Uzbekistan in women’s group competition and won us a Bronze Medal.

The ride for Janki has not been easy. Her parents who work as daily wage labourers still can’t believe the journey she has undertaken so far. Her father is immensely proud of his daughter, who was congratulated over the phone by Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Sri Shivraj Singh Chouhan. A celebrity in her own right, there is no stopping for Janki. She has her eyes set to participate in Asian games & World Judo Championship for the deaf and blind. The ultimate goal? To participate in 2020 Paralympics Judo competition and win Gold Medal for India.