‘I tell my daughter to focus on learning and not winning,’ says young judo gold medallist’s mom

Myrah Mukesh Gupta, a student of class IV at Apeejay Svran Global, has won a gold medal in the U-11 category at a state-level CBSE Judo Championship held at Sonipat, Haryana. She is now preparing for the national-level championship to be held in January 2023.   

“This was a perfect opportunity for Myrah to get exposure. Girls, if passionate about sports, should be encouraged to play. I ensure Myrah gets to participate in all kinds of competitions, even if that means travelling to another city, to boost her confidence. She has been performing very well,” says Gunjan Mukesh Gupta, Myrah’s mother.

The young champion has been participating in sports events since the time she joined school. At home too, she has grown up seeing her parents and her elder brother take an active interest in games. “My elder son Madhav is excellent in football and skating while my husband has a knack for it too, so Myrah feels even more motivated to do something in sports. She has been playing all kinds of sports at school. She enjoys yoga as well and often joins me at home in doing asanas,” the mother adds.

It was soon after the first Covid-induced lockdown that the little girl started learning judo. Gunjan shares, “Once the first lockdown ended, our housing society opened up some activities for children, judo being one of them. Having been stuck at home for months, I thought this would be a good way to get her to be physically active. Her judo coach told us she was very flexible and had a lot of potential. So, we continued her training. She also began enjoying it.

“Myrah attends judo class at 5 am in the morning and then goes to school. The best thing is I don’t have to force her, rather she insists I take her to class every day.”

This is the third time that the Apeejay student participated in the judo championship at Sonipat. While encouraging her daughter to participate in more events, Gunjan is not anxious about how it could compromise Myrah’s academic performance. “She is good at managing her studies with sports. As a parent, all you have to do is to teach your child to be disciplined. You have to help them learn how to finish tasks within a deadline. And the rest will automatically be taken care of,” the mother believes.

For her, what matters the most is participation. “Winning or losing is just a part of playing any game. And you have to accept both. I always tell my daughter to focus on learning rather than winning.”

Simultaneously, Myrah’s school has also been very supportive and proud of her achievements. “The principal and teachers are very helpful. The school’s games coach Rawat sir helped me with all the paperwork that was needed for the judo championship this time. In fact, he made last-minute arrangements as well to make sure Myrah did not lose out on the chance to participate. I got similar support and encouragement even in the case of Madhav, who is now in class IX,” the mother-of-two remarks.