CHENNAI: Life has never been easy for judoka Asmita Dey. Hailing from a nondescript town in South Tripura, Asmita endured extreme hardships. Her father was a bicycle mechanic and his meagre income was not enough to make both the ends meet. On top of that, last year her father breathed his last due to a brain stroke.
Escaping from daily rigours of her childhood, Asmita found solace in sports. She started as an athlete before turning her attention towards combat sport. It his her tough upbringing that has given her strength to endure any impediment in her career. Belonia, her place of birth, will now be in India's sporting map. Since the death, her brother who is a graduate, supports the family through tutorial classes.
The journey which started almost 15 years ago culminated with a historic gold in the -48kg weight category at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Friday. Indian judokas have won silver medals at the quadrennial event but never finished on top of the podium. That changed forever at the SEC Hall when 23-year-old Asmita defeated Heidi Quach of Canada in a tense final that went to Golden Score. The four minute contest ended in a 1-1 tie with the Indian judoka receiving a penalty as well. Asmita, however, earned a point in the next 25 minutes to win the match and create history.
Earlier, Asmita started her campaign in the -48kg confidently by registering an easy win by Ippon against Eva Ewing of Scotland in the quarterfinal. She then got the better of Summer Shaw of Scotland by Yuko in the semifinal.
To begin with, Asmita forayed into athletics with 800m being her favourite event. A talent search programme organised by the Tripura Sports Department, however, changed everything as she dabbled into judo on being advised by her coach. Asmita was around eight when she was selected for Tripura Sports School in Agartala.
After spending quite a few years at the school, she became a Sports Authority of India (SAI) trainee following her superlative show at the inaugural Khelo India Games in New Delhi in 2018. "She was spotted during the talent hunt programme carried out by the sports department. The financial condition of her family was not good but she was very talented. Other than her father, who passed away in December last year, no one was contributing to family's income but Asmita used to save money from her sports scholarship she was getting from SAI and send it to her father," Dr Mihir Shil, judo coach and assistant sports director of the Tripura Sports Department, told this daily.
ACL tear and rehab
Year 2018 turned out to be a breakout year for the athlete as she started training under expert coaches at SAI NCOE in Bhopal and improving by leaps and bounds. "Since 2022, she has been preparing rigorously at the Bhopal SAI centre," coach Amit Vig said. Even as she was gearing up for the 2026 CWG trials, Amita suffered an ACL tear while training.
"The 2025 Senior Ranking Tournament followed soon but she could not perform to her potential due to an ACL tear in her right knee. We consulted a doctor and he suggested surgery, which never was an option as the CWG selection trials were looming. Instead we chose rehabilitation. She strengthened her knee during the rehab and competed in the trials, which she won. Had she opted for surgery, she would have to sit out for almost a year and miss the CWG," Vig added.
As she rose through the ranks, Asmita got a job with Uttar Pradesh police. In 2023, she won a silver medal at the 2023 Asian Open in Kuwait and clinched a gold medal at the Junior Asia Cup in Macau in the same year. Asmita also clinched a gold medal at the 2025 Casablanca African Open.
Harsh makes it two in a row
In a double delight for the Indian contingent, Harsh Singh of Delhi defeated Joshua Katz of Australia to win a gold medal for India few minutes later after Asmita created history. In the round of 16 of the -60kg weight category, Harsh defeated Chikondi Kathewera of Malawi by Ippon. He than overpowered Alan Monthouel of Vanuatu by Ippon in the quarterfinal.
The semifinal against Pedro Carlos Antun of Australia turned out to be a relatively tougher bout but the Indian judoka won it by Waza-Ari to enter the final. In the summit clash, Harsh defeated another Australian opponent 10-0 by Waza-Ari to become first male Indian judoka to win a CWG gold.
Another Indian judoka, Yamini Mourya also entered the summit clash in the -57kg weight category. The final is scheduled for later in the day.