You say impossible, I say I’m possible.
These are the words which Ria Greene lives by. Ria, who has been a judoka since she was five years old, said she fell in love with the sport after being introduced to it by her mother.
The now 13-year-old, who recently acquired a green belt, said one of the many reasons she enjoyed judo was because it kept her focused and in shape. “It’s an unusual sport; it keeps you focused on what you want to achieve, and also keeps you fit,” she said, “It’s an individual sport; it depends on you, how far you can get, and your ability to learn skills.”
She added that judo has also improved her mental and emotional health. “It has changed my life a lot; I feel better as a person. We don’t only do judo here, we undergo a lot of mental training also,” she noted.
Ria said her “can-do” attitude towards life was the reason she was optimistic about competing at the Olympics someday. “I would like to go to the Olympics and represent my country in judo. It’s not something that we can’t achieve; we just have to work towards it,” she noted, “I think it’s possible because we have some really good judokas here.”
Describing herself as a powerful, independent and smart teenager, Ria, who also plays netball, said she excelled at judo because she had the support of her parents, adding that they often encouraged her, and her mother ensured she arrived at training on time.
When she is not training or competing, she is somewhere singing along to Rihanna or J-Cole.