Lourembam Brojeshori Devi - first Olympian judoka from Manipur

Lourembam Brojeshori Devi (1981-2013)

Lourembam Brojeshori Devi (1981-2013) - was the first Judoka Olympian from Manipur, a state in the North-eastern corner of India. She was also the first Indian woman Judoka to take part in the Olympics. She participated in 2000 Olympic Games held in Sydney.

Born on 1st January 1981, Brojeshori hailed from Khagempalli Huidrom Leikai in Imphal West of Manipur. She was the daughter of Lourembam Manglem Singh and Lorembam Ongbi Taruni Devi. In-spite of her family members' disagreement, she started training in Judo from an early age and started participating in Judo competitions. During those days, she would wear her phanek by to cover her sports dress so that her parents would not know about her Judo training. She was married to Rojen Singh, a resident of Tabungkhok, near Imphal.

Brojeshori had participated in 20 international and 16 national judo championships. She had bagged three golds at the international level apart from one silver and three bronzes. She had participated in the Women's Half-Lightweight category in the 2000 Olympic Games and reached the Semi-Finals against Liu Yuxiang of China.

Brojeshori died on July 21, 2013 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India due to excessive internal bleeding caused by an ectopic pregnancy - a condition where the embryo is formed outside the uterus. She was 32 years old.

"Lourembam Brojeshori was a source of inspiration for sportswomen from the northeast" - said Deven Moirangthem, who coached Brojeshori from 1995 to 1998.

• 11th SAF Games in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2010 – Gold medal
• 33rd National Games at Guwahati, Assam in 2007 – Gold medal
• SAF Games in Sri Lanka in 2006 – Gold medal
• South Asian Judo Championship at Bhopal, India in 2005 – Gold medal
• Senior National Judo Championship at Chandigarh in 2005 – Gold medal
• Senior National Championship at Pologround, Patiala in 2003 – Gold medal
• Senior National Judo Championship in Mumbai in 2002 – Gold medal
• 32nd National Games Vishakhapatnam in 2002 – Gold medal

• National Games in Ranchi, Jharkhand in 2011 – Silver medal
• National Judo Championship at Lucknow (UP) in 2009 – Bronze medal
• Senior National Judo Championship at Haridwar in 2009 – Silver medal
• National Judo Championship at Kochi in 2008 – Bronze medal and Best Judoka
• International Judo Tournament in Turkey in 2007 – Bronze medal
• National Judo Championship at Vijayawada in 2007 – Bronze medal
• Senior Nation Judo Championship in Mumbai in 2006 – Silver medal
• Senior National Championship at Cuttack, Orissa in 2004 – Silver medal
• 10th Vietnam International Judo Tournament in 2003 – Bronze medal
• Mauritius International Judo Tournament in 2002 – Bronze medal
• 8th Vietnam International Judo Tournament in Vietnam in 2000 – Silver medal 

(photo - e-pao.net)