Judoka Tulika Maan did not want to leave the arena. She lay motionless for almost a full minute before getting up and her eyes were filled with tears. She had fought all odds to get here. Hers has been a tough life right from childhood and then a few months ago, she and her coach had to fight to even get a trial to make the 2022 CWG team.

An overweight Tulika, who was once over 110 kg, had to bring down her weight by almost 30kg to get more agile in the arena. She had even won two Commonwealth Championships in 2018 (Jaipur) and 2019 (Walsall, UK), but was not picked for the trial till she and her coach fought for it.