Gold Medal Alert! Asmita Dey Defeats Canada’s Heidi Quach To Win India's First Ever Judo Gold In CWG

Asmita Dey etched her name into the history books by becoming the first Indian judoka to win a Commonwealth Games gold medal, defeating Canada's Heidi Quach in a gripping women's 48kg final in Glasgow. With no Indian ever having claimed the top prize in judo at the Games before, the 23-year-old rose to the occasion to deliver a landmark triumph.

Ever since the introduction of judo as a medal sport in CWG in the 1990 in Auckland, Indian judokas have won medals at all editions but never secured a top-of-the-podium finish.

The final was a closely contested affair from the outset. Asmita threatened early with an arm-lock attempt on Quach's left arm, but the Canadian escaped just in time. Quach then opened the scoring with a Yuko, while Asmita also received a shido penalty.

Refusing to back down, the Indian responded with a Yuko of her own to level the scores at 1-1, setting up a tense finish.

Neither judoka could find the decisive score in regulation time, forcing the contest into golden score, where the next point would determine the champion. Showing remarkable composure under pressure, Asmita launched the winning attack and scored a Yuko, sealing a historic victory and ending India's long wait for a Commonwealth Games judo gold.