Judoka Harsh Singh Achieves Historic First, Claims India's 5th Gold At CWG 2026

India's Harsh Singh clinched a historic gold at the Commonwealth Games as he became the first male judoka from the country to win the title, pulling off an upset win over Australia's vastly experienced Joshua Katz in the men's -60kg final on Friday. The 23-year-old, competing in his maiden Commonwealth Games, claimed the biggest title of his career with a composed and tactically astute performance against the Australian Olympian, who was widely regarded as the favourite for the gold.

After a closely fought contest in which neither judoka was able to establish a clear advantage, Harsh struck decisively with just 41 seconds remaining on the clock.

He executed a superb waza-ari, the second-highest scoring technique in judo, to take the lead and then defended resolutely for the remainder of the four-minute bout to secure a memorable victory.

The result was a major surprise considering Katz's decorated résumé.

The 28-year-old has won multiple Oceania Championships and Australian national titles, represented Australia at the Olympics, and claimed a bronze medal at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Unfazed by his opponent's pedigree, Harsh remained composed throughout the contest, refusing to be overawed by the occasion. His decisive waza-ari ultimately proved enough to seal the Australian's fate and deliver India its second judo gold of the day.

Katz also comes from a distinguished judo family, with both his parents being former judokas, while his father has served as Australia's national judo coach at previous Olympic Games. That only added to the significance of Harsh's breakthrough triumph, which stands as the finest achievement of his young career.

CWG Silver for Yamini Mourya

India's Yamini Mourya had to settle for the women's 57kg judo silver medal after a valiant fight against England's vastly experienced Acelya Toprak, ending India's bid for a third gold in the discipline at the Commonwealth Games on Friday.

Facing the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games silver medallist and a seasoned international campaigner, the 28-year-old Indian produced a determined display, matching her opponent through the entire four minutes of regulation time in a tense, tactical contest.

The bout was dominated by gripping exchanges and defensive discipline, with both judokas receiving shido (penalties) for passivity and holding.

Yamini picked up her first shido (penalty) just 1 minute and 34 seconds into the contest, while both fighters were penalised simultaneously around the midway stage.

Neither athlete managed to execute a decisive scoring technique during regulation time, forcing the final into the Golden Score period, where the first score or a decisive penalty determines the winner.

The judoka from Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, continued to resist the relentless pressure from Toprak, an Azerbaijan-born English judoka with years of experience at the highest level.

However, nearly three minutes into the Golden Score period, and just short of the seven-minute mark overall, Yamini was handed her third shido, resulting in an indirect hansoku-make (disqualification) under International Judo Federation (IJF) rules and handing victory to her opponent.

Under IJF regulations, the first two shidos serve only as warnings and do not affect the scoreline. However, a third shido results in disqualification, with the opponent being awarded the contest.

Despite the defeat, Yamini's silver capped another impressive outing in what has been a steady rise on the international circuit.

A multiple-time senior national champion, she has represented India regularly since 2022 and boasts gold medals at the 2022 National Games, 2025 Hong Kong Asian Open and 2026 Dakar African Open, besides winning a bronze medal at the 2023 FISU World University Games.

Yamini's silver added to India's rich haul in judo on the day after Asmita Dey (48kg) and Harsh Singh (60kg) had earlier captured gold medals.

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