Commonwealth Games 2026: Judokas Asmita Dey, Harsh Singh in double gold show

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Asmita Dey became the first Indian judoka to win a Commonwealth Games gold medal as she produced a spirited comeback to beat Canada’s Heidi Quach in the women’s -48kg final while Harsh Singh became the first male judoka from the country to win the CWG title, pulling off an upset win over Australia’s vastly experienced Joshua Katz in the men’s -60kg final here on Friday.

The 23-year-old Asmita from Tripura found herself on the back foot early in the final after conceding a yuko and then receiving a penalty, allowing Quach to take control of the bout. However, Asmita responded brilliantly, attacking with greater intent and levelling the scores at 1-1 shortly after the midway stage of the four-minute contest.

Neither judoka could find the decisive score during regulation time despite a series of intense exchanges, forcing the match into the Golden Score period, where the first scoring action determines the winner. Maintaining her composure under pressure, Asmita launched a decisive attack in sudden-death overtime and earned another yuko to seal a memorable victory and hand India the gold medal.

Since judo’s introduction at the 1990 CWG, Indian judokas had won medals at every editions, but never gold. Harsh, 23, competing in his maiden CWG, claimed the biggest title of his career against the Australian Olympian, who was widely regarded as the favourite for the gold. After a closely fought contest, Harsh executed a superb waza-ari with 41 seconds remaining and defended resolutely to clinch a memorable gold.

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