From father’s cycle repair shop to CWG gold: Asmita Dey’s historic Judo triumph

The family lives in a rented accommodation in the town of Belonia in South Tripura district. Apart from Asmita’s mother Munna Patari Dey, her brother Debabrata Dey stays there.

The last few months have been tough for the family.

India’s Asmita Dey celebrates after defeating Canada’s Heidi Quach to win the gold medal in the Women’s 48kg judo event at the Commonwealth Games 2026, in Glasgow, Scotland, Friday, July 31, 2026. Asmita became the first Indian judoka to win a Commonwealth Games gold medal. (PTI Photo)

“It was a very hard time for us. Her (Asmita’s) father ran a cycle repair shop at the village and our domestic expenses too could not be met. But he always dreamt of giving Asmita every opportunity and took her to a judo centre. He also took a loan of one lakh rupees to support Asmita. We wish he was alive to see his daughter win the Commonwealth Games gold today,” Munna told The Indian Express from Belonia.

It was in 2013 that Asmita was taken to the Belonia Vidyapeeth Coaching Center to train under Bina Debnath. For two years, Asmita would stay mostly at Debnath’s home. “Even though they were a very poor family, I could sense a determination. There were days when she would not have the bus fare to go back to her village but I helped her with whatever I could. She was very quick in learning the basics and never complained,” Debnath shared.

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Asmita Dey creates history, becoming the first Indian judoka to win Commonwealth Games Gold, defeating her opponent by Yuko in the Women’s -48kg Final. ✨

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Two years later, Asmita was selected as a residential trainee at Agartala’s Tripura Sports School by coach Manik Lal Deb. Along with coach Pranab Saha, the current secretary of the Tripura Judo Association, he would oversee Asmita’s training.

“When we selected her for the school, I could sense that this girl had a combat sense. Since she was very thin, we had to work on her strength and stamina a lot. Spending time at the hostel meant that she had proper meals and nutrition. We had to identify the technique that would suit her and worked on her upper body strength. Sometimes, we coaches also had to pool money for her. To see her win gold is our guru dakshina,” an emotional Manik Lal Deb told The Indian Express.

Steady progress

Medals in junior state as well as school nationals would be followed by Asmita joining the Sports Authority of India’s Regional Centre at Bhopal under coach Yashpal Solanki. In 2023, she won the 48kg title at the junior Asia Cup in Macau and followed that with a silver in the Asian Open in Kuwait. Then there was a bronze at the 2024 Commonwealth Championships and a title at the African Open in Casablanca last year.

India’s Asmita Dey celebrates with the national flag after winning the gold medal in the Women’s 48kg judo event at the Commonwealth Games 2026, in Glasgow, Scotland, Friday, July 31, 2026. Asmita became the first Indian judoka to win a Commonwealth Games gold medal. (PTI Photo)

“Training under a coach like Yashpal Solanki helped her a lot. Sometimes sub-junior or junior judokas don’t make the transition to youth and senior levels very well, but Asmita did. Whenever she wins a medal at the national or international level, she sends us a picture to show it to young judokas at the Tripura Sports School. It will be the same this time too,” Saha told The Indian Express.

In December, when the youngster lost her father, it was a tough time for her. Deb remembers how her coaches at the Tripura Sports School made sure that she made a quick return to the sport.

“She was dejected after her father’s death. It took a lot of time for us coaches to ensure that she got over her grief. She is like a daughter for each one of us and I am sure she would be looking to the heavens to show the medal to her father today,” says Deb.