Glasgow: It continued to be India’s day in judo with Yamini Maurya winning a silver medal in the Women’s 57kg, after going down to England’s pre-event favourite Acelya Toprak in a bout that went the distance at the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow on Friday.
In a close final that culminated in a next-score-wins situation, Yamini put up a big fight but conceded after 3 Shidos (penalties), which were converted to Ippon. Yamini thus lost by an Ippon (0-100) in a marathon bout.
Ultimately, Toprak proved too strong and won gold in a bout that lasted a lung-bursting six minutes, 54 seconds.
“I felt like I was dying; I don’t know if it looked like it,” Toprak, the pre-event favourite, told TNT Sports.
Donne Breytenbach of South Africa and Lele Nairne of England won bronze medals in the Women -57kg final that signalled the end of Judo for Friday.
It turned out to be a great day for India as the country won its first two gold medals in judo at the Commonwealth Games. Canada won two gold medals while England claimed one as five weight divisions were decided on Friday.
Interestingly, three Indian judokas reached the finals and two of them bagged gold medals.
It was Asmita Dey and Harsh Singh who made India’s day in the judo competition at the Commonwealth Games. It was a big improvement for India considering that four years back, Tulika Maan won a silver in Birmingham 2022.
Harsh Singh delivered a sensational performance to win the gold medal in the men’s -60kg judo event at the Commonwealth Games 2026, defeating Australia’s Joshua Katz 10-0 in a one-sided final on Saturday.
Asmita delivered a strong and focused performance to win the women’s 48kg judo gold medal, defeating Canada’s Heidi Quach 2-1 in a tightly contested final at the Commonwealth Games 2026 on Thursday.
In a nail-biting title match, the Indian judoka remained composed during the crucial moments. She combined smart strategy with solid defense to get past Quach, claiming the biggest win of her Commonwealth Games journey.
The brilliant performance in judo competitions helped India move to ninth position in the medals tally with 20 medals. India have so far won five gold, 11 silver and four bronze medals.
(IANS)
