F
riday was the best single day India have had at these Games. Six medals in one afternoon, two gold, two silver, two bronze, and by the evening the contingent's overall count had climbed to 23. Nobody in the camp was predicting this a week ago, and honestly, the sport that produced the headline result wasn't even athletics.
It was Judo.
Asmita Dey won gold first. Then, not long after, Harsh Singh did too. Put those two results together and you get something India has never had before: a Commonwealth Games gold in judo, men's or women's, full stop. Yamini Mourya rounded out the set with silver in the women's 57kg after coming up short in her final.
Judo simply isn't a sport Indian fans track closely at these Games. Wrestling, shooting, boxing, sure. Judo tends to slip by unnoticed. For one afternoon in Glasgow that changed, and it's fair to wonder whether this is the start of something or just a good week for two athletes who peaked at the right time.
Across town at Scotstoun, the javelin final told a different kind of story. Neeraj Chopra threw 85.83m, which on most days would be enough. Not against Sri Lanka's Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage, who's been the best thrower on the planet this season and proved it again with a monster 89.75m in round two. Chopra took silver, his second Commonwealth medal after the gold he won back at Gold Coast in 2018 (Birmingham never happened for him, injury kept him out).
Here's the part that actually mattered more for India long-term: Yash Vir Singh threw a personal best, 85.41m, for bronze. Two Indians on the javelin podium in the same final. That basically never happens. For years the event has been a one-man show for India, so a second name on the results sheet is worth more than it might look on paper.
Then there was Tejaswin Shankar, grinding through what officials called injury trouble to take bronze in the decathlon with 7976 points, India's first ever Commonwealth medal in that event. Shankar has a knack for this. He picked up bronze in high jump at Birmingham in 2022 before deciding, somewhat improbably, that ten events was more his speed than one.
So where does that leave India. Five gold, 12 silver, six bronze, 23 total, 10th on the table with two days of competition still left. Australia's well out in front, same as it's been most of the Games. If there's a knock on India's campaign so far it's the gold count lagging the silver and bronze pile, and Friday's two judo golds chipped away at that, even if the overall shape of the tally is still silver-heavy.
Back in Delhi, the politicians did what politicians do. Sports minister Anurag Thakur put out a message congratulating Harsh Singh. Rajnath Singh did the same for Yamini Mourya, calling her run through the tournament impressive. Standard stuff, but it tells you the judo results landed as more than a footnote.
All ten Indian boxers who reached their semifinals on Friday came through, which means every single one of them fights for a medal on Saturday. That's a clean sweep, and it more or less guarantees a big haul regardless of who actually wins gold. Lovlina Borgohain is the name to watch in the women's 75kg. She's already locked into at least a medal after a bye earlier in the draw, so the only question left for her is whether she walks away with gold or has to settle. Gulveer Singh is back in action too, and there's still a full athletics and judo schedule to get through before Glasgow wraps up on August 2.
