New Delhi: In the four Commonwealth Games (CWG) editions before Glasgow where India fielded a judo team, Indian judokas had won a cumulative total of five silver and six bronze medals. In Glasgow’s SEC Hall 4 on Friday evening, Asmita Dey and Harsh Singh ended India’s wait for a judo gold in style by winning their respective finals. Yamini Mourya added a silver medal as Indian judokas made a rousing start to their campaign.
Asmita earned the distinction of becoming India’s first judo gold medallist in CWG, beating Canada’s Heidi Quach by Golden Score (2-1) after the scores were tied at the end of the four-minute regulation time in the -48kg final.
The attritional bout saw both judokas refraining from being proactive early on. Quach got the first point around the halfway mark through a Yuko — awarded when an opponent effects a side landing (90° or more to the front), or lands on their hips or upper back. The judoka must hold the opponent in that position for 5-9 seconds to earn the point.
To make things trickier for Dey, she received a Shido penalty. It is a minor penalty given for non-combativity, stalling, or avoiding attacks in a bout. Accumulation of three Shido penalties results in a Hansoku-make, which means disqualification and losing the match.
The 23-year-old kept her nerve and produced a quick throw of her own to level the scores. The status quo remained until the end, forcing a Golden Score where the first scoring action determines the winner. Dey launched a decisive attack in sudden-death overtime and earned another Yuko to seal the historic title.
Hailing from Belonia in southern Tripura, Asmita is the daughter of a bicycle mechanic and overcame financial challenges to pursue judo. She initially competed in athletics (800 meters) before being introduced to judo by her coach, after which she joined the Tripura Sports School in 2015.
Her performances at the National School Games and Khelo India competitions earned her a place at the SAI Regional Centre, Bhopal (NCOE) in 2018, and she has been training at NCOE Bhopal since then. Asmita has represented India at international events, winning medals at the Asian Open, Junior Asia Cup Judo Championships, and Commonwealth Judo Championships, establishing herself as one of India’s leading judokas in the 48 kg category.
A gold medallist from the 2025 African Open in Casablanca last year, Asmita also won a bronze at the Commonwealth Championships in Malta (2024) and a silver at the Asian Open in Kuwait (2023).
Minutes after Asmita’s date with history, Harsh Singh won India its second judo gold, beating Australia’s Joshua Katz by Waz-Ari in the -60kg final. A two-time Olympian (Rio 2016 and Paris 2024), Katz is also a 2022 CWG bronze medallist and a multiple-time Oceania champion.
Expectedly, Katz started aggressively, but Harsh was up to the task. With neither judoka scoring, another Golden Score finish looked likely. The Australian came close to pinning Harsh at one stage, but the Indian escaped the hold before launching a counterattack.
However, with just 41 seconds left, Harsh struck decisively. The 23-year-old from Delhi executed a superb Waza-Ari and defended the 10-0 lead despite a late assault from Katz. Waza-Ari is the second-highest scoring technique in judo and is awarded when the opponent lands mostly on their side or shoulder.
There was heartbreak for Yamini Mourya in the -57kg final as she lost to England’s Acelya Toprak after accumulating three Shido penalties. Three shidos translate to a hansoku-make (disqualification), which results in a win by ippon for the opponent.
Both judokas were resolute in defence but lacked in attack. Toprak was the more dominant judoka throughout the bout but Yamini managed to hold on. The 28-year-old Indian received two Shido penalties while Toprak got one in the regulation time.
A 2022 CWG silver medallist, Toprak received one more Shido in the Golden Score period. With both judokas tied at two Shidos, the gold went to the Englishwoman after nearly three minutes of exhausting extra time (Golden Score) when Yamini got a third penalty.
The silver takes India’s judo tally to two gold and one silver on the opening day of the competition, already bettering the Birmingham 2022 haul of two silver and a bronze.
The sublime show of judokas comes in the backdrop of a sorry build-up for the Games. India had named a 14-member judo team but following the provisional suspension of Arun Kumar (73kg) and 2022 CWG silver medallist Tulika Maan (+78kg) by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), the squad strength was reduced to 12. Arun failed an out-of-competition test conducted by NADA, while Maan incurred the punishment for a third whereabouts failure in 12 months.
