CWG 2026 bronze medallist judoka Unnati Sharma praised India's four-medal tally in judo, calling it a major boost for the sport's popularity. India secured two golds, one silver, and one bronze, with Asmita Dey winning a historic first gold.
Besides Unnati Sharma's bronze in the Women's -63kg category, India's judo medal tally at the Commonwealth Games 2026 included gold medals from Asmita Dey and Harsh Singh, along with a silver from Yamini Mourya, taking the country's total to four medals. Notably, Asmita's gold medal came as India's first judo gold medal of the Games.
Bronze Medal Victory
Unnati claimed the bronze medal after producing a superb Ippon victory over South Africa's Skye Knoester in the bronze-medal contest. Unnati required just 1 minute and 7 seconds to finish the contest, executing a perfectly timed leg hook that sent her opponent onto her back for a clean Ippon--the highest possible score in judo.
Speaking to ANI, Unnati said she was delighted with India's judo success at the Commonwealth Games, especially the two gold medals, calling it a major boost for the sport in the country. "It has been a very good feeling and it feels very good that medals have finally come in Judo and two golds have come and it's a very good thing, it's a boost for Judo in India so it's a very good thing for us," she said.
Unnati's Journey to Bronze
Unnati began her campaign with an Ippon win over Eswatini's Lamulela Magagula in the round of 16 before defeating New Zealand's Qona Christie by waza-ari in the quarter-finals. She then suffered an Ippon defeat against eventual silver medallist Saya Middleton of Australia in the semi-final, sending her into the bronze medal bout.
Unnati said she studied her opponent's previous bouts after the semi-final loss and devised a strategy to counter her left-handed style. She then used a Dane-Toshi technique during the bronze medal bout, capitalising on her opponent's body position to secure an Ippon victory. "When I lost the semi-final, I saw who my fight was with, so we saw her fights online which were available on IJF (International Judo Federation), according to that we made a strategy that she is a lefty, so our plan was to stop her from the left and then as soon as the fight started, I realized that her body weight is back and I know Dane-Toshi, so I applied Dane-Toshi and she her body balance was back so it became Ippon," she said.
Unnati said she was disappointed after losing the semi-final, as her target was gold, but she stayed positive and shifted her focus towards winning the bronze medal. "When I came after the semi-final, I was very disappointed because my target was gold and because I lost due to my own mistake, I was very disappointed, it was a very sad feeling in a way, but because I knew that I have to go for bronze now, my thinking was to keep myself a bit positive and focus on bronze and at least win bronze, that was my focus," she said.
Crediting the Support System
Unnati credited her family, coaches, and the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) for their continuous support, facilities, and encouragement throughout her journey. "The support has been from my family, Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS), my coaches, their support has been there, the whole Inspire Institute of Sport, where I also train, their facilities, their encouragement and everything and my family and coaches."
Eyeing LA 2028 Olympics
She said her next major goal is to qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics and she will focus on competing in events leading up to it. "The goal is LA 2028 and accordingly we will now go to competitions, participate in competitions and qualify ourselves for LA 2028," she said.
(ANI)
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