Indian judoka Tulika Maan faced a challenging battle in the women’s +78kg elimination round of 32 at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Unfortunately, her campaign came to an early end as she lost to Cuba’s seasoned Olympian and former London 2012 gold medalist, Idalys Ortiz, by a decisive score of 10-0.
Disappointing performance from Tulika Maan
Ortiz, a former two-time world champion in the category, proved to be a formidable adversary. Her impressive track record includes an Olympic bronze from Beijing 2008 and silver medals from Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
In a swift contest lasting just 28 seconds, Ortiz caught Maan in a chokehold move known as karate-time and secured an instant ippon, closing out the match.
Since Maan lost in the round of 32, she won’t have an opportunity to compete in the repechage rounds, even if Ortiz reaches the final. In Olympic judo, only the losing quarter-finalists get a chance to fight for bronze medals in the repechage.
🇮🇳😥 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗮! Tulika Maan faced defeat against Idalys Ortiz in the round of 32 in the women's +78 kg category. Ortiz was awarded Ippon to claim victory.
🙌 No matter the result we are still very proud of you.
👉 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 @sportwalkmedia… pic.twitter.com/qMbleA8nKW
— India at Paris 2024 Olympics (@sportwalkmedia) August 2, 2024
Tulika Maan earned her spot at Paris 2024 through a continental quota based on her rankings. Her journey reflects her dedication and hard work as a former South Asian Games champion and a silver medalist at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.
Maan was India’s sole judoka at Paris 2024, following in the footsteps of Sushila Devi Likmabam, who participated in judo at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics but couldn’t progress past the opening round in the women’s 48kg division.
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