06-Jun-2008 213
Judo fraternity of Orissa has been orphaned after the killing of Biranchi Das, but it has not abandoned its mission to make the combat sport popular as well as productive in the State.
Seven weeks after losing its secretary Das, Orissa State Judo Association (OSJA) attempted its first fightback by starting a coaching camp at Judo Hall in Bhubaneswar today.
The speciality of the 21-day camp is that it will be supervised by Japanese coach Tomoya Kimoto. Around 60 judokas from across the State joined the camp, which is being organised under the aegis of Judo Federation of India.
Kimoto, 33, has been in India since 2006 to help jodokas of the country improve their standard under the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) programme of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
A 4th dan Kodokan certificate holder and a referee of the All Japan Judo Federation, Kimoto imparted training in West Bengal for over a year before he was sent to Orissa.
He demonstrated a few techniques on the occasion of the inauguration of the coaching camp, which is being conducted in the memory of Biranchi Das. OSJA president Priyabrat Patnaik, former minister Suresh Kumar Routray and Gitanjali Panda, who succeeded her husband Biranchi Das as the secretary of OSJA, were present at the function.
According to Patnaik, the camp is sure to help judokas prepare well for different National championships, starting from the sub-junior National to be held Uttarakhand in September. He also announced that Orissa would play host to the Junior National Judo Championship next year.
According to secretary Panda, the conclusion of the coaching camp will coincide with the commencement of the State judo championship on June 26.
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