Indian judo star Sushila Devi draws former Olympic medalist Eva Csernoviczki in opening round

Indian judo star Sushila Devi will open her Tokyo Olympics 2020 campaign against Eva Csernoviczki. Devi is representing India in the women’s 48kg event in judo and is the only Indian judoka at the Tokyo Games. The Tokyo Games are Sushila Devi’s first Olympics.

Sushila Devi’s opening match is expected to be a tough one. Eva Csernoviczki is a former Olympic medalist. Csernoviczki won a bronze medal in the women’s 48kg category at the London Olympics and is much better ranked than Sushila Devi.

Eva Csernoviczki is World No. 24 while Sushila Devi is World No. 46. The last time the two locked horns, Eva Csernoviczki got the better of Sushila Devi. Things will only get tougher for the Indian if she beats Eva Csernoviczki in the Round of 32.

Sushila Devi will have a tough campaign at Tokyo 2020

In the next round, Sushila Devi is likely to meet Japan’s Funa Tonaki. The Japanese is a former World Champion and claimed two silver medals in the 2018 and 2018 World Championships. Tonaki also won a silver at the IJF World Masters this year.

According to the rules of judo at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, the top seeds of each weight category will get byes in the first round. This makes life easier for Funa Tonaki.

Sushila Devi’s claim to fame was at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow where she made her way to the final. In the title match, she lost against local Judoka Kimberly Renicks and was awarded the silver medal.

In 2018, Sushila Devi suffered a hamstring injury that forced her to miss the Asian Games, which pushed the Judoka into a depression.

However, Sushila Devi fought her demons and battled hard to secure a place in the 2020 Olympics. Her coach Jiwan Sharma believes she can spring a surprise too as she has an aggressive mindset.

Also read: All you need to know about Abhinav Bindra’s 5 Olympic appearances

Checkout: Tokyo Olympics Medal Tally