Delhi-born judoka Harsh Singh created history by winning a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow earlier this month.
Published: August 13, 2026, 11:55 AM IST
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Harsh Singh won the men’s 60kg judo title at Commonwealth Games 2026(Photo: IANS)
Independence Day 2026: Indian judoka Harsh Singh created history for the country at the Commonwealth Games 2026 earlier this month, securing a gold in the men’s 60kg category with a win over Australia’s Joshua Katz in the finalHe became the second Indian judoka after Asmita Dey to win a gold at CWG 2026 in Glasgow.
Ahead of India’s 80th Independence Day on Saturday, Harsh believes it was Neeraj Chopra’s elusive gold at the Tokyo Olympics 2021 which allowed Indian athletes and sportspersons to dreamHarsh, who trains as Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) in Bellary, spoke to India.com in an exclusive interview talking about the special Independence Day this year.
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“Winning Olympics gold in athletics is very special achievement for meNeeraj Chopra winning Olympic gold was a historic moment for India and inspired a whole generation of young athletes – including me – I was really inspired from Neeraj Chopra sir,” Harsh Singh told India.com in an exclusive interview.
The gold medal for Harsh Singh at the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow was incidentally his first major medal in any international competition of noteBefore the CWG 2026, his best performance was a 7th place finish at the Qazaqstan Barysy Grand Slam 2026.
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India’s Harsh Singh wins Gold medal in the men’s 60kg Judo category.
! #TeamIndia #CommonwealthGames #Glasgow2026 #Cheer4Bharat@mansukhmandviya | @khadseraksha |… pic.twitter.com/c8yrI8eILh
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) July 31, 2026
The 23-year-old revealed that the medal ceremony after winning gold at the CWG 2026 has now become his fondest sporting memory“Winning a gold medal for India at the Commonwealth Games 2026 is the fondest sporting memory for me now, since it comes just days before 80th Independence Day of the countryIt is a very emotional and very proud moment for me and it will be something that I cherish for all my lifeHearing the national anthem on the podium in Glasgow was something I could never imagine,” Harsh Singh revealed.
The Delhi boy believes that India have the capability of becoming the next major sporting nation by the time we celebrate out 100th Independence Day in a couple of decade’s time“We need to give more opportunities to young athletes and improve sporting facilities and coachesCoaching at the grass root level is essential as we have lot of potential in India if we can identify that talent early and give athlete the right support and trainingI believe India can become the biggest sporting nation in the world by the 100th Independence Day of the country,” Harsh Singh revealed
Harsh, a havildar in the Indian army, had won the gold medal in the Junior Nationals event back in 2022He had also bagged silver medals at the All India Inter-Varsity competition, Khelo India, and the National Games, besides a bronze at the Senior Nationals.
Asked about his earlier memories of Independence Day, Harsh said, “I used to celebrate the Independence Day at my school, we used to hoist the national flag, sing the national anthem together and took part in different cultural programAt that age I didn’t understand the meaning of the Independence Day as I do now, but I still enjoyed celebrating it.”
