Imphal: A statue of India's first woman Olympian judoka, Lourembam Brojeshori Devi, was unveiled at the Manipur Olympic Association complex here on Sunday.

Minister for arts and culture L. Jayantakumar Singh, along with the president of the Manipur Judo Association M. Ratankumar Singh and others, attended the programme.

Facing stiff opposition from her family members to pursue a career in sports, Brojeshori started off as a kabaddi player while she was a class VIII student. But she switched to judo the next year, following her teacher's advice. She contacted several coaches, including SAI Imphal coaches Sabitri Devi and M. Deven, to build her career from 1996.

In the same year, Brojeshori Devi participated in her first Junior National Championship and won a bronze medal. She also won the All India SAI Competition.

However, Brojeshori won her first gold medal at the 5th National Games held here in 1999 and started participating in various international championships in Vietnam, Japan and other countries.

In 2000, she became the first Indian woman judoka to participate in the Summer Olympics in Sydney, where she finished ninth. Brojeshori Devi participated in 20 international tournaments, bagging three gold medals, three bronze medals and a silver.

Brojeshori Devi worked briefly with the Indian Airlines after her performance at the 5th National Games. She later joined the CRPF as a head constable in 1999 and rose to the post of assistant commandant in 2013.

The 30-year-old got married in 2011. She undertook two-months' rigorous training in Coimbatore for departmental promotion. During the training programme, Brojeshori Devi, who was then two-and-a-half month pregnant, lost her life owing to excessive internal bleeding on July 24, 2013.