The trio delivered impressive performances throughout the day, keeping India’s aspirations for multiple gold medals in judo alive.
Asmita displayed incredible tenacity in the women’s 48kg event, making a comeback to defeat Scotland’s Summer Shaw by yuko in a tightly contested semifinal after seeming on the brink of defeat. Earlier in the day, she advanced to the semifinals with a decisive ippon victory over Scotland’s Eva Ewing.
The young talent will now compete against Canada’s Heidi Quach in the gold medal match later on Friday.
Harsh Singh also had a seamless journey to the men’s 60kg final. After dispatching Malawi’s Chikondi Kathewera by ippon in the opening round, he triumphed over Vanuatu’s Alan Monthouel in the quarterfinals and subsequently edged past Australia’s Pedro Carlos Antun Neto by waza-ari in the semifinal.
He is set to face another Australian, Joshua Katz, in the title match.
Yamini Mourya demonstrated equal prowess in the women’s 57kg category. The Indian athlete defeated South Africa’s Donne Breytenbach by ippon in the semifinal without much struggle, following an earlier ippon win against Ghana’s Frema Agyei in her first match.
She will take on England’s Acelya Toprak in the final.India’s journey also encountered setbacks in other categories.
In the women’s 52kg class, Shraddha Kadubal Chopade exited after losing to Wales’ Lola Hodson by yuko in the repechage round. She had previously overcome Sierra Leone’s Jane Massaquoi by ippon before facing a quarterfinal defeat to Australia’s Tinka Easton.
Rohit Basir Majgul’s run in the men’s 66kg category also came to an end in the repechage, falling to England’s Michael Fryer by yuko. Earlier, Rohit had claimed victory over Mozambique’s Samuel Ribeiro before succumbing to Cyprus’ Petros Christodoulides in the quarterfinals.
With three finalists competing later on Friday, India has the chance to transform guaranteed podium finishes into an outstanding gold medal achievement in the judo competition.
First Published: Jul 31, 2026 7:48 PM IST
