Glasgow: Unnati Sharma bounced back from a semifinal defeat to claim the bronze medal in the women’s 63kg judo event at the Commonwealth Games 2026, defeating South Africa’s Skye Knoester in the third-place playoff on Saturday.
Later, India missed a medal in the men’s 81kg as Harsh Tokas lost to Keishin Ochi of Australia by Ippon (100-0) in the Bronze Medal Match.
The podium finish took India’s judo tally at the Games to four medals. Earlier, Asmita Dey and Harsh Singh had won gold medals, while Yamini Mourya secured a silver medal to underline India’s dominance in the discipline.
Unnati enjoyed a commanding start to her campaign, producing a clinical performance against Eswatini’s Lamulela Magagula in the Round of 16. The Indian judoka wrapped up the contest in just one minute and 39 seconds, earning victory by ippon after executing two successive waza-aris.
She maintained her momentum in the quarterfinals with another composed display against New Zealand’s Qona Christie. Unnati registered a yuko before sealing the bout with a decisive waza-ari to progress to the semifinals.
Her bid for a place in the final ended with a semifinal defeat, but the setback did little to dent her resolve. Returning to the mat for the bronze medal contest, Unnati delivered a confident and disciplined performance to overcome South Africa’s Skye Knoester and secure a place on the podium.
The medal marked another significant achievement for the young Indian judoka, who displayed consistency and composure throughout the competition. Her dominant victories in the opening rounds, followed by a strong response after the semifinal loss, highlighted her fighting spirit and ability to bounce back under pressure.
The Uttarakhand judoka has had a steady rise in the circuit. Her journey in the sport began with the simple aim of losing weight at a local training centre. After spending two years learning the basics and showing early promise, her performances convinced her family to back her pursuit of judo as a career in 2019.
Since then, Unnati has represented Uttarakhand with distinction at the National Games and has been a regular member of India’s junior and senior international squads. She has steadily built an impressive résumé, winning gold at the 2026 Dakar Africa Open and bronze at the 2025 Hong Kong Asia Open. She also claimed gold at the 2023 Macau Junior Asian Open and recorded top-seven finishes at the 2025 Taipei Asian Open and the 2023 Junior Asian Championships.
(IANS)
