Judo has been an Olympic sport since 1964. It has been a part of every Olympic since then except the 1968 Olympics.
Judo at Tokyo Olympics: There will be 15 events in Judo at Tokyo Olympics. 7 each in Men’s and Women’s category and 1 mixed team event. Here are the weight categories for Tokyo Olympics:
| Men | Women |
| 60 kg | 48 kg |
| 66 kg | 52 kg |
| 73 kg | 57 kg |
| 81 kg | 63 kg |
| 90 kg | 70 kg |
| 100 kg | 78 kg |
| 100+ kg | 78+ kg |
Qualification: The qualification is based on International Judo Federation rankings as on 28th June, 2021. Each country can enter a maximum of 1 Judoka per weight category.
The top 18 athletes as per ranking on 28th June in each category automatically qualifies subject to one athlete per country. After automatic qualification, continental quotas are allocated. Here is the list of available of continental quotas across categories:
Europe: 13 Men + 12 Women
Asia: 10 Men + 10 Women
Africa: 12 Men + 12 Women
Pan America: 10 Men + 11 Women
Oceania: 5 Men + 5 Women
Continental quotas are allocated based on a list of all athletes for each continent across division and genders. Each country can qualify only 1 judoka through continental quota.
And this where India currently has a chance of one Olympic Quota: Shushila Devi is currently in a continental Olympic spot in Women’s 48 kg category. She is currently ranked 44 in 48 kg category and is in a pole position to get a continental quota for India.
Mixed Team Qualification: For a country to qualify for mixed team event, that country needs to have 6 qualified athletes – 3 Men and 3 Women. Along with this, each weight division needs to be represented in both Men and Women. Here are the weight divisions: Women ( <=57 kg, 70 kg, 70+ kg), Men (<=73 kg, 90 kg, 90+ kg)
India has had representation in Judo at every Olympic since 1992. So, let us hope same continues at Tokyo as well.
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