Glasgow, Jul 31 (PTI) India’s Yamini Mourya had to settle for the women’s 57kg judo silver medal after a valiant fight against England’s vastly experienced Acelya Toprak, ending India’s bid for a third gold in the discipline at the Commonwealth Games here on Friday.
Facing the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games silver medallist and a seasoned international campaigner, the 28-year-old Indian produced a determined display, matching her opponent through the entire four minutes of regulation time in a tense, tactical contest.
The bout was dominated by gripping exchanges and defensive discipline, with both judokas receiving shido (penalties) for passivity and holding.
Yamini picked up her first shido (penalty) just 1 minute and 34 seconds into the contest, while both fighters were penalised simultaneously around the midway stage.
Neither athlete managed to execute a decisive scoring technique during regulation time, forcing the final into the Golden Score period, where the first score or a decisive penalty determines the winner.
The judoka from Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, continued to resist the relentless pressure from Toprak, an Azerbaijan-born English judoka with years of experience at the highest level.
However, nearly three minutes into the Golden Score period, and just short of the seven-minute mark overall, Yamini was handed her third shido, resulting in an indirect hansoku-make (disqualification) under International Judo Federation (IJF) rules and handing victory to her opponent.
Under IJF regulations, the first two shidos serve only as warnings and do not affect the scoreline. However, a third shido results in disqualification, with the opponent being awarded the contest.
Despite the defeat, Yamini’s silver capped another impressive outing in what has been a steady rise on the international circuit.
A multiple-time senior national champion, she has represented India regularly since 2022 and boasts gold medals at the 2022 National Games, 2025 Hong Kong Asian Open and 2026 Dakar African Open, besides winning a bronze medal at the 2023 FISU World University Games.
Yamini’s silver added to India’s rich haul in judo on the day after Asmita Dey (48kg) and Harsh Singh (60kg) had earlier captured gold medals. PTI AM AM APS APS
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