With judo coming back into the Commonwealth Games fold after 12 years, Indian judokas looked a confident lot as they begin their campaign here tomorrow, aiming to produce the best-ever performance by the country in the quadrennial event.
This is the third time that judo has been in Commonwealth Games after 1990 in Auckland and 2002 in Manchester and India had won two medals each in both the editions.
The current India team, comprising seven men and seven women, expressed confidence of winning four to five medals this time.
Women's coach Virender Singh said that the 14-member Indian team had a good preparation ahead of the Games with a training-cum-exposure tour to Tashkent and then Hungary for more than 20 days in May-June.
He said India should win four to five medals.
"We had a very good training-cum-exposure trip to Tashkent which was for 15 days. Then the team was sent to Hungary to take part in a Grand Prix event. The exposure will be very useful for the players and overall we hope to win four to five medals," Virender, himself a Commonwealth Games medal winner, told PTI.
"In 1990 India won two bronze and then a silver and a bronze in Manchester. Now, we are aiming for at least four medals. If that happens, that will be the best-ever performance in Commonwealth Games by India," men's coach Rameshwar Dutt Mudgil said.
"Out of the five judokas who will fight tomorrow, we are expecting to win three medals," he added.
