Some wins end up in a trophy cabinet. Others end up inspiring an entire generation. Asmita Dey's gold medal at the 2026 Commonwealth Games is the second kind.
This one feels personal to us at Kishor Barta. We're a magazine for young people, built around their dreams and talents so watching a young athlete from our own state stand on the biggest stage and make history for India is something we're genuinely proud of. Asmita hasn't just brought pride to Tripura. She's given the whole country something to celebrate.
She's only 23, and she just became the first Indian judoka ever, man or woman, to win a Commonwealth Games gold in judo. Her win in the women's -48 kg category in Glasgow wasn't just a personal victory. It was a first for Indian judo itself.
But getting to that podium wasn't easy.
Asmita Dey was born on 22 March 2003 in Belonia in South Tripura district of Tripura, one of four children in a family that had very little to spare. Her father, Arjun Kumar Dey, spent his days fixing bicycles, bringing home barely ₹300 on a good day, just enough to keep the household running. Lived in a mud house, money was always tight, but not once did he let any of that become a reason for his daughter to walk away from the sport she was passionate about.
But judo isn't where she started. She began as an 800-metre runner and even got picked for district trials. It was a coach who introduced her to Judo and that random turn ended up leading to history.
She started training with Bina Debnath at Belonia Vidyapeeth Coaching Centre and then with Manik Lal Deb at Tripura Sports School. The success she had in school competitions and at Khelo India events made her eligible for the Sports Authority of India regional center at Bhopal in 2018. There, coached by Yashpal Solanki, she became part of the national programme and later, the Target Olympic Podium Scheme.
From there, it was only onwards. In 2022, she became the first Indian judoka from Tripura to win an international medal at the Asian Cadet & Junior Championship in Thailand. In 2023, she clinched a gold medal in the Junior Asia Cup in Macau and a silver in the Asian Open in Kuwait. By 2025, she managed to earn her first senior international gold at the Casablanca Africa Open in Morocco. In between, she won several gold medals at the Khelo India University Games and was crowned as junior national champion in 2023-24. But medals only tell half of the story
A bad knee injury once nearly ended her career. Her father stuck by her through it taking her to Delhi for treatment, sorting out medicines, doing whatever he could to get her back on the mat.
And when her career had finally started taking shape, tragedy struck. Her father suffered a brain stroke and died just days before Asmita secured a spot for the Commonwealth Games through trials held in New Delhi in December 2025.
It was a shock. He had always been her biggest support, and without him, the dream they'd chased together suddenly felt difficult to continue. It was because of her mother that she returned to practice shortly after the funeral, telling her that her father would never have want her to give up in any circumstances.
It was a challenging phase for Asmita, dealing with grief, immense pressure, and relentless training. Asmita has talked about lying awake in the middle of the night replaying the fights ahead of her and how hard it was to switch off her mind. Even when she was tired, she could not rest, she would wake up at 5:30 every morning to train.
Her nerves got the better of her even in Glasgow, where she had carried everyone's hopes on her shoulders but kept telling herself, 'Face every opponent, and win.'
Over the course of Asmita’s journey, she has looked up to Portuguese football legend Cristiano Ronaldo. She has closely followed his life and career, particularly admiring the struggles he overcame on his way to becoming one of the world’s greatest footballers. Asmita has also found inspiration in the fact that Ronaldo lost his father at the age of 19 but continued to pursue his dreams and achieved extraordinary success. Having watched and learned about his entire journey, she considers Ronaldo the person who inspires her the most.
There's another small detail that says a lot about her mindset. Her favourite sweet, laung latta, sat untouched in the fridge back home which was bought by her brother. She'd look at it, sometimes almost give in, then stop herself, remembering what she was working toward. It's a tiny thing, but it says everything about what it takes to win: choosing your goal over anything, even when no one's watching.
Then came the moment all of it was for.
In Glasgow, Asmita fought her way to the final beating Scotland's Eva Ewing in the quarter-finals and another local favourite, Summer Shaw, in the semis. The final, against Canada's Heidi Quach, tested every bit of her composure. She held her nerve and landed the throw that won it.
India had its first judo gold at the Commonwealth Games.
The remarkable feat by Asmita Dey has earned her appreciation from leaders and sports personalities all over the nation. President Droupadi Murmu described the victory as a glorious day for Indian judo, applauding Dey's determination, skill and perseverance. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, noting that Dey serves as a Sub-Inspector with the UP Police, congratulated her for bringing glory to Maa Bharati on the global stage and called her success an inspiring symbol of the courage, discipline, determination and hard work of Indian women. UP DGP Rajeev Krishna also hailed her for bringing honor to the Uttar Pradesh Police.
Back home, the celebrations were equally heartfelt. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha described Asmita as a "daughter of Tripura" who had once again brought glory to the state on the international stage, while praising her performance for bringing immense pride and honor to both Tripura and the nation. Tripura Sports Minister Tinku Roy also joined in congratulating her on the remarkable achievement.
On August 12, Chief Minister Manik Saha felicitated Asmita in Agartala and announced a ₹10 lakh cash award from the Tripura government. Her family was also granted 2.5 gonda of land in Agartala to build a house, with the ₹33.5 lakh land premium waived by the Tripura Cabinet in recognition of her achievement. Calling her Tripura's second "Golden Girl" after Dipa Karmakar, the Chief Minister also assured Asmita that the state government would continue to stand by her and her family despite her now serving under the Uttar Pradesh Home Department and Police.
Olympian Dipa Karmakar, herself one of Tripura's greatest sporting icons, called Asmita's gold medal a moment of immense national pride. She said she was overjoyed by the news of India's historic first Commonwealth Games gold in judo in the women's 48 kg category and expressed how proud she felt of the achievement. Dipa also highlighted the rich sporting talent of Northeast India and reflected on Asmita's personal journey, saying the victory would have made her late father especially proud.
Asmita’s victory has also highlighted the sport of judo, which gets far less publicity than cricket or football. Thousands of young athletes train every single day in judo, boxing, wrestling, weightlifting, and more. These athletes deserve recognition and appreciation.
For the young readers of Kishor Barta, Asmita Dey has become more than just a star athlete. She is now an example that talent from Tripura can compete with the very best in the world. She reminds us that where we come from does not define how far we can go. She started on a running track. She landed in a sport she never planned for. She trained through money troubles, came back from injury, lost her father, and fought through anxiety and pressure and still ended up on top of a Commonwealth Games podium.
Her story is proof that success doesn't happen overnight. Behind every medal is years of hard work and the guts to keep going when quitting would have been so much easier. But she chose to make her family proud, her state proud, and the whole country proud. She's written her name in the history of Indian Sports.
We hope her win motivates more young people to take that first step on a playground, a sports mat, in a classroom, a lab, a studio, or a stage with faith and confidence in themselves.
Congratulations Asmita Dey. The medal belongs to you, but the inspiration it has given belongs to all of us!
