Unnati Sharma added another medal to India's growing judo tally at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, defeating South Africa's Skye Knoester by Ippon to claim the bronze medal in the women's 63kg category on Friday.The Indian needed just one minute and seven seconds to wrap up the contest, executing a brilliant leg tangle that forced Knoester onto her back. The referee immediately awarded an Ippon, handing Sharma a dominant victory and India's fourth judo medal of the Games.Sharma had earlier emerged as India's best performer during the day's competition, progressing to the women's 63kg semi-finals with a composed victory over New Zealand's Qona Christie, scoring a Waza-ari and a Yuko.However, her bid for gold was halted by Australia's Saya Middleton in the semi-finals. Sharma started brightly by earning a Yuko in the opening minute, but Middleton responded with two successive Waza-ari scores, which combined to complete an Ippon and send the Australian into the final.The setback did little to dent Sharma's confidence as she returned for the bronze medal bout later in the evening and produced one of the quickest victories of the competition.It was a mixed day for the rest of the Indian contingent.Harsh Tokas kept his medal hopes alive by defeating Samoa's Peniamina Percival in the repechage, dominating the contest before securing an Ippon in just one minute and eight seconds to advance to the bronze medal bout.Earlier, Karanjit Singh Maan bowed out after losing his repechage contest to Scotland's Scott Cusack on caution points, while Inunganbi Takhellambam saw her campaign end after suffering an Ippon defeat to England's Jemima Beats-Brown in the repechage.With Sharma's bronze, India continued its impressive showing on the judo mats after winning three medals on the opening day of the competition, taking the country's tally in the sport to four medals in Glasgow.
This report has been adapted by the PurePlay Sports Desk from coverage by The Hindu Sportstar, The Bridge, Khel Now, NDTV Sports, Google News — India Sports.