Commonwealth Games 2026: All you need to know about Asmita Dey

Tripura has rarely featured on India's judo map, but Asmita Dey has spent the last four years single-handedly changing that.

The 23-year-old, who competes in the women's -48kg category, heads into the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow as one of the most consistent performers in India's judo squad.

Early days

Asmita Dey was born on March 22, 2003, in Belonia, a district headquarters town in South Tripura.

Hers was a modest background as the daughter of a bicycle repair shop owner with little exposure to competitive sport. She started out not in judo but in athletics, competing in the 800m before a coach spotted her potential and introduced her to the sport.

She joined the Tripura Sports School in 2015, where she trained first under Bina Debnath and later under Manik Lal Deb, steadily building a reputation on the school games and Khelo India circuit.

Her performances there earned her a spot at the SAI Regional Centre in Bhopal, where she moved to train under the national programme.

Rising through the ranks

Asmita's breakthrough on the international stage came in July 2022, when she won bronze at the Asian Cadet and Junior Judo Championships in Bangkok, defeating opponents from China, Japan, Korea and Malaysia along the way.

It was, at the time, the first international judo medal ever won by an athlete from Tripura.

She backed it up with a gold medal in the -48kg category at the Khelo India University Games in Bengaluru and continued to build momentum through 2023. That April, she won silver at the Asian Open in Kuwait City, and in July, she claimed gold at the Junior Asia Cup Judo Championships in Macau.

Speaking about her career during this period, Asmita named Indian judoka Avtar Singh as her sporting idol, alongside Japanese judo star Uta Abe, and described her ambition to eventually win an Olympic medal for India as a Target Olympic Podium Scheme development athlete.

Continued international progress

Asmita's rise continued through 2024 and 2025. She won bronze at the 2024 Commonwealth Judo Championships in the -48kg category, and followed it in 2025 with gold at the African Open in Casablanca, Morocco.

She also competed at the 2026 Asian Senior Championships, continuing to test herself against the region's best in the build-up to Glasgow.