India achieved a significant milestone in judo at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, securing two gold medals. Asmita Dey and Harsh Singh both earned top honours in their respective categories, marking a historic day for the nation in the sport.
Asmita Dey became the first Indian female judoka to win a Commonwealth Games gold medal. She triumphed over Canada‘s Heidi Quach in the women’s 48kg final. The match was decided by yuko with a score of 2-1 after a golden score contest.
The 23-year-old from Tripura faced early pressure in the final, conceding a yuko and receiving a penalty, which allowed Quach to take the lead. However, Asmita adopted a more aggressive approach, levelling the contest at 1-1 before the end of the four-minute bout. The match then proceeded to a Golden Score period, where Asmita executed a decisive attack to secure another yuko and the gold medal for India.
Earlier in the day, Asmita had overcome Scotland‘s Sarah Adlington in a tense Golden Score semi-final. Her campaign began with an ippon victory against Scotland‘s Eva Ewing in the quarter-finals.
Harsh Singh’s Historic Victory
The celebrations for India continued as Harsh Singh claimed the gold medal in the men’s 60kg category. He defeated Australia‘s Joshua Katz by waza-ari with a score of 10-0 in the final, marking India‘s second judo gold of the day at the Commonwealth Games.
Harsh Singh‘s victory made him the first male judoka from India to win the title. Competing in his first Commonwealth Games, the judoka delivered a composed and tactically sound performance against an experienced Australian Olympian who was considered a favourite for the gold medal.
Katz initiated the contest aggressively, but Harsh maintained strong defence, preventing his opponent from gaining an early advantage. Throughout the match, Harsh sought opportunities. At one point, Katz nearly pinned him, but the Indian judoka escaped and attempted a counter-pin. Neither attempt resulted in points.
With less than a minute remaining and no scores on the board, Harsh executed a throw and pin at the 3:19 mark, earning a waza-ari. This score was sufficient to secure the victory. A waza-ari is the second-highest score in judo, awarded for a throw that lacks one element for an ippon or for a ground hold lasting between 10 and 19 seconds.
A Landmark Day for Indian Judo
Harsh Singh is recognized as one of India‘s promising judokas in the men’s 60kg category. He has represented India at various International Judo Federation (IJF) Grand Slam and Grand Prix events, accumulating experience against highly-ranked judokas globally. His consistent performances on the international stage earned him a place in India‘s squad for the Commonwealth Games, where he made an immediate impact by winning gold on his debut.
His opponent, Joshua Katz, is a multiple-time Oceania and Australian national champion, who has represented Australia at the Olympics and won bronze at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Katz comes from a judo family, with both his parents being former judokas and his father having served as Australia‘s national judo coach at previous Olympic Games.
This double gold victory marks a significant moment for Indian judo at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Arjun Sharma
Sports Reporter