How Delhi’s gritty judoka Harsh Singh overcame injuries to win historic CWG gold

Having broken his collarbone as a child and undergone knee surgery last year, judoka Harsh Singh made a rapid recovery, came out on top in the trials for the 2026 Commonwealth Games (CWG), and won a historic gold medal in the men’s 60kg category in Glasgow. He became the first Indian male to win a judo gold, just moments after his colleague Asmita Dey had made history by becoming the first woman to win a judo gold for India.

Judo attracted Harsh as a kid, and he kept pursuing the combat sport, eventually representing India at international competitions — and winning the biggest prize of his career in the form of the CWG gold on July 31.

“I fought four bouts. The first two were a bit easy, while the semifinal and final bouts were against Australians, and they were tough,” Harsh told Patriot in an interview.

Harsh beat Chikondi Kathewara of Malawi in the round of 16 and Alan Monthouel of Vanuatu in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, the 23-year-old from New Delhi defeated top-seeded Australian Pedro Neto 10-0, and in the final, the fourth-seeded Indian overcame another Australian, the sixth-seeded Joshua Katz, 10-1 at the SEC Centre in Glasgow.

Decorated judoka

Before showcasing his talent and skill at the CWG, Harsh had swept almost all national competitions. He has won gold medals at the National Games, Junior National Championships, and Khelo India University competition, and is a multiple medallist at the Senior Nationals. He has represented India at international competitions like Grand Slams, Grand Prix events, and the Asian Championships.A havildar in the Indian Army, Harsh won gold at the Junior Nationals in 2022. The same year, he bagged silver medals at the All India Inter-Varsity competition, Khelo India, and the National Games, besides a bronze at the Senior Nationals.

In 2023, Harsh won gold at the Goa National Games, apart from annexing silver medals at the Khelo India Games, andthe All India Inter-Varsity competition (twice).  Then, he clinched bronze at the 2024 National Ranking Meet and improved it to gold in the next edition in 2025, the year he also annexed bronze at the Senior Nationals.

Before the CWG, Harsh finished seventh at the Qazaqstan Barysy Grand Slam this year and participated in the Senior Asian Championship and the Tashkent Grand Slam. He also took part in the 2025 Tokyo Grand Slam and the Hong Kong Asian Open 2025, all of which provided crucial experience before he reached the top in Glasgow.

Serious injuries

 

Harsh has sustained some serious injuries in his career. The scariest one came in 2025. With less than a year to gofor the Glasgow CWG, he injured his knee, and it required surgery.

“As a kid, I broke my collarbone. If someone sees it now, he can easily make out the protruding bone; it is quite obvious that the bone had been broken. Then, in August last year, I underwent surgery on my right knee after my ligaments tore. It took me close to a year to rehabilitate and recover following the surgery in Bangalore. After recovering, I came first in the trials for the Glasgow CWG and was picked for the Games,” he said of the travails of playing a combat sport.

“Judo is a combat sport, and the chances of sustaining injuries are high. That is one reason parents are scared of putting their kids into this sport. I think they would not like to see their kids get injured while playing a combat sport like judo. Although kids often show interest in combat sports, it is the parents who discourage them at times,” he reasoned as to why not many youngsters take up judo.

Harsh, however, pointed out that the immediate effect of his gold medal-winning effort is showing, at least in Delhi. “Cricket is on top in India. Other sports are paid less attention. But now kids have started taking up judo, and even parents’ support is increasing gradually in Delhi. One of my friends who runs a judo training centre in Delhi was telling me that a day after I won the CWG gold, six kids came with their parents and took admission at his centre,” he said.

“If this is happening in my surroundings, I am sure it must be happening at other places as well.”

Falling in love with judo

 

Judo attracted Harsh even when he was a student at a primary school in Patel Garden, Dwarka Mor. “Judo was a sport at my school. I was very active at school. My games teacher noticed that trait in me and encouraged me to play the sport. There was a judo club at my school where people would train in the evenings. I would go there and just sit quietly, watching the action. When I would hear the sound of players throwing their opponents and fighting, I found it very interesting,” he recalled.

“I requested my mother to buy me a judo uniform, and she bought me one. However, my father didn’t quite comprehend what I was trying to achieve by playing judo. Later, he also became supportive gradually and even encouraged me. My elder brother also used to play judo, but he quit the sport to concentrate on academics, and I continued with it,” he said.

After clearing Class XII, Harsh took admission to a Bachelor of Physical Education course but did not pursue it. He then landed a job with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). “Later, when I was offered a higher position in the Army, I joined it, leaving the ITBP.”

Harsh trained at JSW’s Inspire Institute of Sport — India’s first privately funded high-performance training centre for athletes — in Vijayanagar, Karnataka, until about three months before the Glasgow CWG, which started on July 23.

Face-saving efforts for Delhi

 

Harsh’s judo gold, along with ace decathlete Tejaswin Shankar’s historic bronze, came as face-saving efforts for Delhi. But for these two athletes, Delhi would have gone without any of its athletes winning a medal at the Glasgow CWG.

When told about this, Harsh said he had never realised that he and Tejaswin were the only medal winners representing the national capital.

“Delhi has produced good athletes. But I don’t know what happened this time,” he said.

Olympian Amol Jacob, another ace Delhi athlete who specialises in the 400m events, has been laid low by an injury, Delhi’s chief athletics coach Dinesh Rawat informed. His presence might have added to Delhi’s medal tally, and therefore India’s.