Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Agartala: Asmita Dey etched her name into the history books today. The 23-year-old judoka from Belonia, Tripura, clinched India's first-ever Commonwealth Games gold medal in judo. She topped the women's 48 kg category at the 2026 Glasgow Games. The final was a nail-biter. Dey defeated Canada's Heidi Quach 2-1 by Yuko during a tense Golden Score period.
Dey dominated her path to the gold. She beat Scotland's Eva Ewing by ippon in the quarter-finals. Next, she edged out home favorite Summer Shaw in the semi-finals. An emotional Dey spoke after the bout. "This is my first Commonwealth Games, and I have won a gold medal in it, and I am very happy today, sir," she said. She dedicated the victory to her coach, seniors, and country.
The victory provides a bright spot after a period of intense personal loss. Her father, Arjun Kumar Dey, passed away in December 2025. He ran a bicycle repair shop and raised her with three siblings. Born on March 22, 2003, Asmita initially trained as a runner before transitioning to judo. She studied under Bina Debnath at the Belonia Vidyapeeth Coaching Centre and later Manik Lal Deb at the Tripura Sports School. She joined the Sports Authority of India center in Bhopal in 2018 to train under coach Yashpal Solanki.
Her rise through the ranks includes gold at the 2023 Junior Asia Cup and the 2025 Casablanca African Open. She also holds a silver from the Asian Open in Kuwait. Her success brings India’s medal tally to 18 in Glasgow. This count includes four golds, nine silvers, and five bronze medals.
Tripura Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha praised the performance. He stated that her hard work will inspire the next generation. Sports Minister Tinku Roy echoed these sentiments, noting the pride of the entire nation. Dey now joins weightlifter Mirabai Chanu and para-athletes Sharmila Dhankar and Dilip Gavit as gold medalists for India at these games.
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