Judoka Tulika Mann says she was not expecting to get the continental quota to compete in the forthcoming Olympic Games women’s over 78kg class as she believed Avtar Singh (100kg class) and Vijay Yadav (60kg) had better chances, but is now focussed on giving off her best in Paris.

“Judo has always been full of surprises and one never knows what would happen at any point of time. So one never knows what will happen that day. Look at how I made it to the Paris Olympics! But looking at my training, I am hoping I will make it to the bronze medal match at least if not the final. We are training for gold,” she said.

Tulika, who first came into the limelight after winning a silver in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, says she was not confident that the Paris Olympics was on the cards when she was injured in 2022.

But a victory over Canada’s Portuondo Isasi in the round of 32 in the World Championships in Abu Dhabi last month pitchedforked her on the Olympic ranking.

“The journey has been exciting. My coach (Yashpal Solanki) had drawn up a calendar of events to target, but the Olympics was not part of that,” she says.

However, her fifth place finishes in the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year and the Asian Championships in Hong Kong in April this year helped her rake in crucial points.

“I won three bouts each in the Asian Games and the Asian Championship. Hong Kong is when I first thought maybe I could do it,” she says, admitting that she was doubtful when she could not win a bout in two Grand Slam competitions in Dushanbe (Tajikistan) and Astana (Kazakhstan). “The win in the World Championship helped me,” she says.

Asked who her toughest opponent would be, Tulika names China’s Su Xin.

“She (Su Xin) will be my biggest competitor as I was injured during a bout with her in the 2022 Asian Championships. I think she was the toughest competitor I have faced. France’s Romane Dicko is also a good competition. She is not as heavy as the Chinese but is quick and powerful,” she says.

A part of the government’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) for some time now, she credits it for the support.

“I have got a lot of assistance from TOPS. A lot of us under TOPS get assistance to compete in events through the year to sustain our rankings. When the expenses are taken care of, we can compete without tension and can give our best,” she says.

Tulika who went agonisingly close to winning India’s sixth Judo medal at the Asian Games but lost the bronze medal match to Amarsaikhan Adiyasuren (Mongolia) in Hangzhou, will be the ninth woman Judoka from India to compete in the Olympic Games.