Glasgow, August 1, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Indian judoka Unnati Sharma bounced back from a semifinal setback to win the bronze medal in the women’s 63kg category at the Commonwealth Games 2026, defeating South Africa’s Skye Knoester in the third-place playoff on Saturday.
Unnati’s podium finish took India’s judo medal tally at the Games to four. Earlier, Asmita Dey and Harsh Singh won gold medals, while Yamini Mourya secured silver to continue India’s strong performance in the discipline.
The Uttarakhand athlete began her campaign with a dominant victory over Eswatini’s Lamulela Magagula in the round of 16. She completed the contest in just one minute and 39 seconds, securing an ippon after executing two consecutive waza-aris.
Unnati continued her impressive run in the quarterfinals, defeating New Zealand’s Qona Christie with a composed performance. She scored a yuko before sealing the bout with a decisive waza-ari to advance to the semifinals.
Although she missed out on a place in the final after losing her semifinal bout, Unnati responded strongly in the bronze medal match. She displayed confidence and control to overcome Knoester and secure a place on the podium.
India, however, missed out on another medal opportunity in the men’s 81kg category, where Harsh Tokas lost to Australia’s Keishin Ochi by ippon in the bronze medal contest.
Unnati’s medal adds another milestone to her growing judo career. She began training with the sport initially to lose weight at a local centre but gradually developed into a competitive judoka. After showing promise during her early years, her family supported her decision to pursue judo professionally in 2019.
Since then, Unnati has represented India at junior and senior levels, winning gold at the 2026 Dakar Africa Open and bronze at the 2025 Hong Kong Asia Open. She also claimed gold at the 2023 Macau Junior Asian Open and has produced strong performances at several international competitions.
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