The trio produced commanding performances through the day to keep India’s hopes of multiple gold medals alive in judo.
Asmita showcased remarkable resilience in the women’s 48kg competition, fighting back to defeat Scotland’s Summer Shaw by yuko in a closely contested semifinal after appearing on the verge of defeat. Earlier in the day, she had progressed to the last four with a comfortable ippon victory over Scotland’s Eva Ewing.
The young Indian will now face Canada’s Heidi Quach in the gold medal bout later on Friday.
Harsh Singh also enjoyed a flawless run to the men’s 60kg final. After defeating Malawi’s Chikondi Kathewera by ippon the opening round, he overcame Vanuatu’s Alan Monthouel in the quarterfinals before edging past Australia’s Pedro Carlos Antun Neto by waza-ari in the semifinal.
He will now take on another Australian, Joshua Katz, in the title clash.
Yamini Mourya was equally dominant in the women’s 57kg category. The Indian barely broke a sweat as she defeated South Africa’s Donne Breytenbach by ippon in the semifinal after opening her campaign with another ippon victory over Ghana’s Frema Agyei.
She will meet England’s Acelya Toprak in the final.India’s campaign also saw disappointment in other categories.
In the women’s 52kg division, Shraddha Kadubal Chopade bowed out after losing to Wales’ Lola Hodson by yuko in the repechage. She had earlier defeated Sierra Leone’s Jane Massaquoi by ippon before suffering a quarterfinal defeat to Australia’s Tinka Easton.
Rohit Basir Majgul’s challenge in the men’s 66kg category also ended in the repechage after he lost to England’s Michael Fryer by yuko. Earlier, Rohit had beaten Mozambique’s Samuel Ribeiro before going down to Cyprus’ Petros Christodoulides in the quarterfinals.
With three finalists in action later on Friday, India now has an opportunity to convert guaranteed podium finishes into a memorable gold medal haul in the judo competition.
First Published: Jul 31, 2026 7:48 PM IST

