Glasgow: India had never won a judo gold medal in the history of Commonwealth Games.
On Friday, July 31st, that changed. And how!
In the space of less than half an hour, two Indian judokas reached the top of podium at Glasgow’s SEC Centre.
Tripura girl Asmita Dey etched her name in the history books as she grabbed India’s first-ever CWG gold in judo, getting the better of Canada’s Heidi Quach by Yuko (2-1) in a hard-fought contest in Women’s 48 kg category.
In a gripping final, Asmita fell behind early, only to show remarkable fighting qualities with a crucial takedown. She then kept her composure in a tense finish amid relentless pressure from Quach to pip her rival and seal a landmark victory.
“I am really happy to win this medal.. this medal was very important for me, my state and my country,” Asmita told ANI, dedicating it to her coach.
“My father, who passed away in December 2025, had supported me a lot, but I felt that everything was over after his death… But 2 months later, the Asian Games trials took place, in which I stood first at the national level,” Asmita added.
A little later after Asmita’s triumph, Harsh became India’s maiden male gold-medallist in judo as he defeated Joshua Katz of Australia 10-0 via Waza-Ari in Men’s 50 kg final.
Harsh waited for the right time to pounce. With less than a minute left in the clock, the Indian produced the decisive move to claim the points.
With 5 gold, 10 silver and 4 bronze till this juncture, India have moved up to 8th place in the medals tally.
