Now Reading: Harsh Singh gold, Unnati Sharma bronze light up Indian judo
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Harsh Singh gold, Unnati Sharma bronze light up Indian judo
Harsh Singh won India's first men's judo gold at the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday, beating Australia's Joshua Katz in the -60kg final in Glasgow. Hours earlier, Unnati Sharma took bronze in women's…
The Story in Brief
Harsh Singh won India's first men's judo gold at the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday, beating Australia's Joshua Katz in the -60kg final in Glasgow. Hours earlier, Unnati Sharma took bronze in women's 63kg after a narrow semi-final loss. The medals ended a long wait for Indian judo, with Asmita Dey also winning gold earlier.
Harsh, a 23-year-old Havildar in the Army, recovered from an ACL tear that needed surgery in 2024. Unnati, also 23, only made the team after a retrial. Both train at the Inspire Institute of Sport and say the medals have sparked new interest in the sport back home.
The Indian Opinion
The jubilation over these medals is deserved, but the narrative that Indian judo has suddenly arrived is misleading. Asmita Dey had already broken the gold drought, and both athletes had years of institutional backing from IIS and the Army. The real test is whether this momentum carries to the Olympics. If more young judokas stay in the sport and funding keeps flowing, these medals will mean something. If not, they remain a footnote.
Sources (2): hindustantimes.com, sports.ndtv.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
