Her late father fixed cycles for a living. Judoko Asmita Dey won a historic Gold
As Asmita stood on the podium, tears welled in her eyes. The pride of making history was tempered by the sorrow that her father, Arjun
As Asmita stood on the podium, tears welled in her eyes. The pride of making history was tempered by the sorrow that her father, Arjun Dey, was not there to witness it. Earlier in December 2025, he died after suffering a brain stroke, just days before Asmita qualified for the Commonwealth Games at the selection trials in New Delhi. On Friday, Asmita scripted history by becoming the first Indian judoka to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, defeating Canada's Heidi Quach 2-1 by yuko in the women's 48kg final at Glasgow 2026. The victory marked a watershed moment for Indian judo, ending the country's long wait for a Commonwealth Games champion. Read Full Story The final began cautiously, with both judokas engaged in physical exchanges along the edge of the mat. Quach took the lead midway through the contest with a yuko before Asmita, despite picking up a shido penalty, responded with a sharp throw to level the scores. Growing in confidence, the Indian pressed forward with a series of attacks and remained in control despite Quach threatening on the counter. With the scores locked at the end of regulation time, the contest moved into Golden Score. Asmita held her nerve and produced a superb throw near the edge of the mat to score the decisive point, sealing India's first-ever Commonwealth Games judo gold.
Earlier in the day, she had beaten Scotland's Sarah Adlington in a tense Golden Score semifinal after opening her campaign with an emphatic ippon victory over Scotland's Eva Ewing in the quarterfinals. 'EVERYTHING HAD FINISHED AFTER MY FATHER DIED' Born on March 22, 2003, in Belonia, the district headquarters of South Tripura, Asmita's rise has been a remarkable story of perseverance. The daughter of a bicycle repair shop owner, the 23-year-old overcame modest beginnings and limited exposure to competitive sport to reach the top step of the podium. The one person Asmita wanted to share her historic triumph with was the person she no longer could. Her father, a cycle mechanic who earned barely Rs 300 a day and raised his family in a modest mud house in a small village in Tripura, died of a brain stroke earlier this year. #WATCH | Glasgow | Indian Athlete Asmita Dey says, “I am really happy to win this medal; This medal was very important for me, my state and my country I dedicate it to my coach My father, who passed away in December 2025, had supported me a lot, but I felt that everything was pic.twitter.com/KzJjcP9BQm— ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2026 For a few moments, the celebrations gave way to memories of the man who had believed in her long before the rest of the country did.
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