Vijay Kumar Yadav is an Indian judoka, who has won a bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games 2022. He participates in the 60 kg men’s category.
Wiki/Biography
Vijay Kumar Yadav was born on Monday, 15 April 1996 (age 26 years; as of 2022) in Sulemapur Village, Harahua Block, Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh. His zodiac sign is Aries.
Physical Appearance
Height: 5′ 5″
Weight: 60 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Brown
Family
Parents & Siblings
His father, Dashrath Yadav, works at an agricultural machinery manufacturing company in Chandigarh. His mother’s name is Chinta Devi. He has two sisters and two brothers. His brother, Ajay Yadav, is a soldier in the Indian Army. and his other brother, Vikas Yadav, is a sports coach and bus driver.
Vijay Kumar Yadav’s parents
Vijay Kumar Yadav’s brother Ajay Yadav
Career
Vijay started his training in wrestling at a training centre in Lalpur, Varanasi. He then continued his training at Dr Sampurnanand Sports Stadium Sigra, Varanasi. There, he started developing an interest in judo. At the training centre, he met the Indian judo coach Kashi Naresh Yadav, and Vijay shared with him that he wanted to play judo. In 2008, Kashi Naresh asked him to join a sports academy in Saharanpur and start his training in judo. Vijay agreed to it and after training there for a few years, he pursued his training in judo at the Sports Authority of India, Bhopal unit. Vijay then participated in various national and international judo competitions such as Asian Open in Hong Kong in 2018, Commonwealth Championships in Walsall in 2019, Budapest Grand Prix 2019, World Championships Senior 2019, and Tel Aviv Grand Slam 2021.
Vijay Kumar Yadav at Budapest Grand Prix 2019
Vijay Yadav participated in the Commonwealth Games in August 2022. He won a bronze medal in judo under 60 kg men’s category by defeating Petros Christodoulides from Cyprus.
Vijay Kumar Yadav on winning a bronze medal at Commonwealth Games 2022
Medals
Gold
- 1 January 2014: India U21 Championships Shillong, Meghalaya
- 27 February 2017: India Championships, Chennai
- 13 March 2018: India Championships, Jammu
- 10 November 2018: Commonwealth Championships, Jaipur
- 25 September 2019: Commonwealth Championships, Walsall
- 13 December 2019: India Championships
Silver
- 30 September 2012: Asian U17 Championships, Taipei
- 13 February 2015: National Games of India, Kerala
- 4 January 2019: India Championships, Visakhapatnam
Bronze
- 11 December 2013: Asian U18 Championships, Hainan
- 11 February 2014: India Championships, Himachal Pradesh
- 21 December 2014: India Championships, Haridwar, Uttarakhand
- 1 December 2018: Asian Open, Hong Kong
- 30 November 2019: Asian Open, Hong Kong
- 1 August 2022: Commonwealth Games, Birmingham
Vijay Kumar Yadav with his bronze medal at Commonwealth Games 2022
Award
2019: Lakshman State Award by the Government of Uttar Pradesh
Facts/Trivia
- When he was 7 years old, he joined a wrestling training centre which was 22 km away from his village and was located in Lalpur, Varanasi. He used to travel daily to the training centre on his bicycle. Sometimes, he used to take a lift to reach the training centre. Even his family’s financial condition was not good. In the initial years of his training, his family was not able to provide him proper diet. So, Vijay shifted to a hostel at the Sports Authority of India Center in Lucknow. In an interview, while remembering those days, he said,
Our financial situation was not good it improved a little when my brother got a job in the Indian Army. Another brother is a bus driver. I have worked very hard to reach here. I have won several gold and silver medals in the all-India university championship as well as junior and senior national championships. I have also participated in the Asian Games and won gold in the Commonwealth judo championship in 2018 and 2019.”
- In 2020, during an interview, Vijay shared that he wanted to participate in the Tokyo Olympics, but he could not qualify. He said,
It was the toughest time when I was not able to qualify for Tokyo Olympics 2020. Now, I am fully prepared to face any challenges. I will definitely win a gold medal in my first appearance in the Commonwealth Games. Getting gold in the Paris Olympics will be my next target. After winning a medal in the upcoming Commonwealth Games I will request the state government to give me a job so that I can continue with my practice without any financial constraint.”