Glasgow, August 1: Unnati Sharma made a remarkable comeback by securing a bronze medal in the women’s 63 kg judo event at the Commonwealth Games 2026. She triumphed over South Africa’s Sky Noster in the match for third place after recovering from a semifinal loss.
With this victory, India’s medal tally in judo at these games has reached four. Earlier, Asmita Day and Harsh Singh won gold medals, while Yamini Maurya claimed a silver, showcasing India’s dominance in the sport.
Unnati kicked off her campaign with an impressive performance against Eswatini’s Lamulela Magagula in the Round of 16. The Indian judoka finished the match in just 1 minute and 39 seconds, winning with an ‘ippon’ after two consecutive ‘waza-ari’ scores.
She continued her stellar performance in the quarterfinals, displaying composure against New Zealand’s Kona Christie. Unnati secured a ‘yuko’ before clinching the match with a decisive ‘waza-ari’ to advance to the semifinals.
Although her quest for the finals ended with a semifinal defeat, it did not dampen her spirit. Returning to the mat for the bronze medal match, Unnati played with confidence and discipline, defeating South Africa’s Sky Noster to secure her spot on the podium.
This medal marks another significant achievement for the young Indian judoka, who consistently performed well throughout the tournament and maintained her composure. Her impressive victories in the early rounds and strong comeback after the semifinal loss demonstrated her fighting spirit and ability to rebound under pressure.
The bronze medal is a crucial milestone in the journey of this judoka from Uttarakhand, who began her career at a local training center with the simple goal of losing weight. After two years of mastering the basics and showing promise in her early performances, her family decided in 2019 to support her pursuit of judo as a career.
Since then, Unnati has represented Uttarakhand brilliantly at the National Games and has been a regular member of India’s junior and senior international teams. She has achieved remarkable success, winning gold at the 2026 Dakar Africa Open and bronze at the 2025 Hong Kong Asia Open. Additionally, she secured gold at the 2023 Macau Junior Asian Open and placed in the top seven at the 2025 Taipei Asian Open and the 2023 Junior Asian Championships.
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