Glasgow, Aug 1 (IANS) Tripura Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha hailed Asmita Dey's historic Commonwealth Games triumph after the 23-year-old became India's first-ever judo gold medallist at the Games, saying her achievement would inspire generations of young athletes.

"Asmita Dey, a daughter of Tripura, has once again brought glory to the state on the international stage. Her dedication, hard work, and self-confidence will continue to inspire the younger generation of the country," Dr. Saha said while congratulating the judoka.

Asmita overcame personal tragedy and won history by beating Canada's Heidi Quach 2-1 thanks to a dramatic Golden Score, which secured her the women's 48kg title at the Commonwealth Games 2026.

Asmita's path to winning the gold medal was just as impressive. She won against Scotland's Eva Ewing by ippon in the quarter-finals and then, in a tough semi-final, narrowly defeated the home favourite Summer Shaw. In the match for the gold medal she remained calm when facing Quach and then secured the win with a Golden Score against Yuko, thus giving India its first-ever judo gold at the Commonwealth Games.

Asmita was born on March 22, 2003, in Belonia, Tripura, and comes from a modest family; she is the daughter of Arjun Kumar Dey, who runs a bicycle repair shop, and at first took part in the 800 metres before being brought into judo by a coach who noticed her potential.

She studied with Bina Debnath at the Belonia Vidyapeeth Coaching Centre and then pursued her training with Manik Lal Deb at the Tripura Sports School. Because of her performances she was accepted at the Sports Authority of India Regional Centre in Bhopal in 2018, where she trained under the experienced coach Yashpal Solanki and later joined the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) development group.

Inspired by the Indian judoka Avtar Singh and the Japanese athlete Uta Abe, Asmita became the first judoka from Tripura to win an international medal at the Asian Cadet and Junior Judo Competition in 2022; she then secured a gold medal at the 2023 Junior Asia Cup, earned a silver at the Asian Open in Kuwait, and won her first senior international title at the 2025 African Open in Casablanca, Morocco.

Tripura Sports Minister Tinku Roy also praised the judoka for her landmark achievement.

"The entire nation of India is proud of the historic success of Tripura's daughter Asmita Dey. Asmita's unique achievement will inspire, encourage, and motivate countless athletes of the coming generation to dream and achieve bigger goals."

--IANS

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