In a historic double-gold blitz for India, Harsh Singh etched his name in the record books by becoming the country's first-ever male judoka to bag Commonwealth Games gold on July 31.
Harsh Singh wins historic CWG gold in judo
Following Asmita Dey's first-ever gold for India at CWG, Harsh delivered a clinical performance to overcome Australia's Joshua Katz, sealing the historic yellow metal with a decisive Waza-Ari (10-0) in the men's 60kg final. The triumph completed an extraordinary turnaround on the mat, transforming India’s all-time CWG judo gold count from zero to two within a matter of minutes.
The gold medal match opened at a frantic pace as Joshua Katz came out attacking, eager to establish early dominance. Harsh Singh, however, stood firm, showcasing resilient defense to thwart every offensive attempt. For much of the contest, the two fighters engaged in a tense tug-of-war, trading maneuvers with neither able to break through on the scoreboard—even when Harsh narrowly wriggled out of a dangerous pin attempt by the Australian and immediately fired back with a counter-attack.
The deadlock finally broke at the 3:19 mark in a flash of brilliance from the Indian judoka. Capitalizing on a split-second opening, Harsh executed a flawless throw and quickly transitioned into a hold down on Katz, scoring a decisive Waza-Ari that ultimately secured him the Commonwealth Games crown.
This historic victory marked India's second judo gold of the Glasgow Games and its fifth gold overall. Harsh’s top-podium finish brought the nation's total tally to 19 medals, comprising five golds, nine silvers, and five bronzes.
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India's gold tally in Glasgow reaches five
India’s five gold medals at the Games have been delivered by a stellar mix of weightlifting, para-athletics, and judo stars: Mirabai Chanu (women's 48kg weightlifting), Sharmila Dhankar (women's shot put F57), Dilip Gavit (men's 100m T47), Asmita Dey (women's 48kg judo), and Harsh Singh (men's 60kg judo).
A substantial 10-medal silver collection features strong second-place finishes from Rishikanta Singh, Muthupandi Raja, Gyaneshwari Yadav, Sarvesh Kushare, Valluri Ajaya Babu, Harjinder Kaur, Gulveer Singh, Murali Sreeshankar, Mohammed Basil, and Lovepreet Singh. Adding further depth to the tally are four bronze-medal runs from Jhandu Kumar, Bindyarani Devi, Shilpa K Shyla, and Seema Kaliramna.