GLASGOW, JUL 31 (PTI): India’s Asmita Dey produced a spirited comeback to clinch the women’s 48kg judo gold medal, defeating Canada’s Heidi Quach in a dramatic golden score contest at the Commonwealth Games here on Friday.
The 23-year-old from Tripura found herself on the back foot early in the final after conceding a yuko and then receiving a penalty, allowing Quach to take control of the bout.
However, Asmita responded brilliantly, attacking with greater intent and levelling the scores at 1-1 shortly after the midway stage of the four-minute contest.
Neither judoka could find the decisive score during regulation time despite a series of intense exchanges, forcing the match into the Golden Score period, where the first scoring action determines the winner.
Maintaining her composure under pressure, Asmita launched a decisive attack in sudden-death overtime and earned another yuko to seal a memorable victory and hand India the gold medal.
The triumph capped an impressive campaign for the young judoka, who showed remarkable resilience to recover from an early deficit and outfight her Canadian opponent in a gripping final.
Harsh clinches historic men’s -60kg gold
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 upsets win over Australia’s vastly experienced Joshua Katz in the men’s -60kg final here 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 résume.
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.
Lovepreet wins silver with ‘’snatch’’ record
India’s Lovepreet Singh shattered the Commonwealth Games snatch record and came agonisingly close to gold before finishing just a kilogram behind New Zealand’s David Andrew Liti to claim silver in the men’s +110kg weightlifting competition here on Thursday.
The 28-year-old totalled 388kg (176kg in snatch and 212kg in clean and jerk), was pipped by Liti, who clinched gold with 389kg (166kg+223kg) after a Games record lift in clean and jerk.
England’s Andrew Griffith claimed bronze with a distant 356kg (165kg+191kg).
The Punjab lifter was in sublime touch in the snatch, opening with a comfortable 168kg before effortlessly raising the bar to 173kg.
He then smashed the Games record with a flawless 176kg in his third attempt, taking a commanding 10kg lead into the clean and jerk. The early exit of Samoa’s fancied Sanele Mao, who failed all three attempts at 175kg in the snatch, further strengthened Lovepreet’s position as he emerged the favourite for gold. But Liti mounted a remarkable comeback in the clean and jerk.
The New Zealander began with 207kg to reduce the deficit before Lovepreet successfully matched his personal best of 212kg in his second attempt.
Roared on by chants of “Come on Jatta” and “Come on Singh”, Lovepreet opted for a bold 217kg in his final attempt, a lift that would have broken the Games record and secured gold. He managed to clean the weight but could not summon enough strength to jerk it overhead.
That opened the door for Liti, who produced a massive 223kg, a new Games record in clean and jerk, to snatch the gold by the slimmest of margins.
Seema wins discus throw bronze
India’s Seema Kaliramna made three successive fouls but her third attempt of 58.65m was enough to clinch a bronze medal in the women’s discus throw, while compatriot Nidhi Rani finished fourth in the Commonwealth Games here on Thursday.
Seema endured a nervy finish, fouling her fourth, fifth and sixth attempts, but her third-round effort proved enough to hold on to bronze. Cameroon’s Monie Nora Atim had one final chance to snatch the bronze but failed to produce the required distance, managing only 11.18m on her last attempt, allowing Seema to finish on the podium ahead of Nidhi. Jamaica’s Samantha Hall won the gold with a Games-leading throw of 61.66m, while Canada’s Julia Tunks took silver with 60.67m. Nidhi opened India’s campaign with a throw of 53.19m but was immediately overtaken by Nigeria’s Obiageri Pamela Amaechi (53.68m) and Uganda’s Monie Nora Atim (55.37m). Seema, meanwhile, began with a foul after sending her discus into the net.
Tunks then moved to the top with an opening effort of 58.21m before Hall seized the lead with 59.27m.
Nidhi responded with a strong second-round throw of 55.67m to climb to third, but Seema soon leapfrogged her compatriot by launching the discus to 57.32m in the second round.
Tunks improved to 60.67m to strengthen her hold on the silver medal position before Seema enhanced her own mark to 58.65m at the halfway stage, putting herself firmly in contention for bronze.
Hall consolidated her supremacy with a fourth-round effort of 60.95m and then sealed the gold with her best throw of 61.66m in the fifth round.
Boxing: Jadumani, Arundhati, others storm finals
Arundhati Choudhary stunned defending champion Rosie Eccles of Wales in a split decision in women’s 70kg class, while world champion Jaismine Lamboria (women’s 57kg), Preeti Pawar (women’s 54kg), Ankush Panghal (men’s 80kg) and Jadumani Singh (men’s 55kg) also sailed into the Commonwealth Games final as Indian boxers produced a dominant display here on Friday. Arundhati beat her Wales opponent 4-0 in a messy and ill-tempered women’s 70kg category semifinal as the Indian held on to her good show in the first two rounds, forcing Rosie to receive a standing count during that time.
Jaismine was so dominant in her 57kg semifinal bout that she won in a Referee Stops Contest (RSC) decision after the Lesotho boxer received her third standing count in the closing seconds of the second round. Jadumani Singh also entered the men’s 55kg final after beating P. P. M. Haoseb of Namibia in a unanimous 5-0 decision in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, Preeti out-punched Zambia’s Catherine Mwape 5-0 while Ankush Brushed aside Joshua Ofori by a similar margin.
The 22-year-old from Bhiwani, Preeti, who is an Asian Games bronze medallist, powered to a 5-0 win to set up a clash with Canada’s Scarlett Delgado, who defeated England’s Lauren Mackie 4-1 in her semifinal bout.
The Indian outpaced Mwape for most of the bout, cleverly drawing her in for effective counter-attacks with her left straight being particularly effective.
Mwape struggled to connect throughout and was beaten almost every time Preeti launched her combination strikes. The Zambian’s struggles were evident from the three counts she faced in the first two rounds.
Such was Preeti’s dominance that all five judges marked 10-8 in her favour in the second round.
With the bout out of her grasp, Mwape spent the last three minutes evading the pounding from Preeti, who sailed through without having to work too hard. Ankush was equally dominant against Ofori, who resorted to repeated clinching after being comprehensively outboxed in the opening two rounds. Although the Canadian launched an all-out attack in the beginning of the second round, the Indian soaked up the pressure with ease before countering with crisp combinations to seal a one-sided 5-0 verdict.