Hailing From Gujarat's 'Mini Africa', Judoka Shahin Darjada Ready For Bigger Challenges After KIYG Glory

One would mistakenly count Shahin Darjada, seated with cornrows decorated with beads on her head, as some sports fan enjoying an outing at the indoor hall of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium where the judo competitions of the ongoing Khelo India Youth Games are being held. Hailing from Jambur village, popularly known as the 'Mini Africa' of Gujarat, Shahin walked away with a gold medal in the 57kg category with a convincing win over Himachal Pradesh's Rupanshi in the final.

There are a couple of more players hailing from the region, situated around 20km from Gir, and has served as a home to the Siddi community, which is of African origin.

Shahin, who recently won a silver medal at the Asian Junior Judo Championship in Tashkent, now has two gold, one silver and one bronze from her four appearances in the Khelo India Youth Games.

"It was an easy bout for me. The opponent did not trouble me as I carried experience of four Khelo India competitions. It was my opponent's first Khelo India final. I was in complete control of the bout right from the beginning. Happy that my Khelo India journey comes to an end with a gold," she said after winning the final.

The 18-year-old said her performance started to improve once she shifted to the Vijayi Bharat Sports Academy (VBSA) in Ahmedabad where she started training under Georgian coach, Lasa Kizilashvili from 2022.

Speaking about her future, Kizilashvili said "She trains hard at the academy. She follows every instruction given to her. A promising future lies before her. If you ask me, she is an Olympic material."

A Class 12 student of Somnath Academy in her native village, Shahin is one of the six siblings and counts herself as a fortunate one to have supportive parents. Shahin's father