Aditya Dhopaokar star attraction at Khelo India Judo

Commonwealth Cadet Championship medallist Aditya Dhopaokar will be the star attraction of the judo competition at the Khelo India Youth Games, which starts here from Thursday.

Dhopaokar, who won silver at the Commonwealth event in Jaipur last November, wants to improve on his Khelo India School Games performance of last year.

"Last year I was little upset with a bronze medal finish, but my father who is my coach has trained me hard for this edition. There is an improvement in my game with my silver at Jaipur and I feel confident of the gold this time," Dhopaokar was quoted as saying in a media release issued here Wednesday.

"The Judo Federation also honoured me with the prestigious black belt for winning the Commonwealth medal," added Dhopaokar, who will compete in the 73kg in Under-17 category.

Ashwini Solanki is excited to be part of Khelo India for a second consecutive year and will compete in the 48kg U-17 event.

"Last year in Delhi, I lost in the finals. I have learned a lot from my mistakes and this year I'm confident of winning gold and bring glory to Maharashtra," Ashwini said.

Sohan Singh of Madhya Pradesh popularly known as Sonu, also won a silver at Jaipur.

He will compete in the 50kg category.

Sihor's Kapil Parmar, a bronze medallist at the junior nationals will also represent Madhya Pradesh and aims to finish on the podium for his parents.