SUBBA WINS BRONZE AT PARAPAN DEBUT

Following the Pan-American Games, it was time for the Parapan Games to begin in the heart of Lima, where for the first time, judo was part of the menu for the Jamaican team. Visual Impaired (VI) judoka, Theador Subba, began his judo journey only 8 months ago. On the 24th of August, he draw history by winning the first ever VI judo medal for Jamaica as well as winning the first medal for Team Jamaica at the 2019 Parapan Games.

Subba, who competed at his usual, +100kg category, faced R. ANDERSON (USA) during his first contest. The match-up had not scored during the clear contest time (4 minutes) and had to go into golden score, where the Jamaican judoka used his outstanding ne-waza skills to secure an osei-komi waza and progress to the semi-final stage.

One step away from the final, Subba fall short against B. GOODRICH (USA) who threw our judoka with a nicely timed makikomi. This left Subba to seek a chance to fight for bronze medal where he bowed to L. MONTERO (VEN). The medal winning contest displayed a strong head to head battle against the Venezuela judoka and we saw the pair of them having to continue into golden score. Subba put out everything he had left in him and after blocking a makikomi attempt from Montero, the Jamaican judoka rolled his opponent into an osei-komi waza, winning his and Jamaica’s first VI Judo medal.

Subba expressed his thoughts after the medal ceremony:

“I came here with the purpose of winning a medal and I am proud to be the first visually impaired Judoka from Jamaica to compete and medal at an international competition. I want this medal to be a beacon of encouragement for the other Jamaican athletes throughout the remainder of the games. I hope this encourages both blind/visually impaired and able-bodied athletes to pick up the sport of judo.”

The 22-year-old judoka was led by Jamaican Judo coach, Steven Moore who recapped the day after the bronze medal fight:

“The hard work has paid off with a brilliant display in Lima. I'm extremely proud of Theador and believe me when I say there is a lot more to come! Thanks to the Jamaica Paralympic Association and Fighting Films for the support in making the monumental moment possible.”