RAJIV EXCELS IN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP...Hill lad wins jiu-jitsu medal

VIVEK CHHETRI, TT, 27 Sep 2018, Darjeeling: Rajiv Khati from Darjeeling has won a bronze in the world jiu-jitsu championship, which was held in Russia recently.

Jiu-jitsu is a martial art and combat sport that traces its origin to Japan. However, the sport was modified in Brazil and a distinct Brazilian jiu-jitsu has evolved, which is slight variant from the original sport.

Khati, 37, is a proponent of Brazilian jiu-jitsu which is considered to be among the fastest growing sports in the world and was introduced in the recently concluded Asian Games at Jakarta.

Khati said: "The ACB JJ World Open Championship was recently held in Moscow, Russia, and I bagged a bronze in the blue belt category." A six- member team of Delhi-based Crosstrain Fight Club had represented India in the championship. Of the six, Khati was the sole podium winner Rajiv Khati in Darjeeling on Wednesday from India. "This is the first time that India has won a medal in a jiu-jitsu world championship," said Khati, who runs a marketing company in New Delhi.

The sport is a grappling martial art involving the use of throws, takedowns and ground control position with an aim to choke and joint locks. "It isn't, however, exactly a brutal sport but more about using the mind; it's like a game of chess using one's body," said Khati, who is a blue belt holder.

In jiu-jitsu, participants fall under white, blue, purple, brown and black category in an ascending order. It takes almost 12 years to get a black belt. Khati got involved in the sport six years back. In 2015, he was the "national winner" in his category.

"This year, I trained for a week in Russia before the competition," said Khati.

The sport is picking up in India, too, and Khati is training under a purple belt holder, Siddhart Singh. "I am also training young children in this sport," said Khati.

The jiu-jitsu player, however, sad he could not participate in the Asian Games this year because of "various technical reasons".