Asmita Dey, a 20-year-old judoka from Tripura, has won a silver medal in the Asian Open Championship (senior) held in Kuwait City. The two-day competition saw participation from judokas from 27 other Asian countries, including China, Japan, Korea, and India. Asmita competed in the women’s 48-kg category and defeated Juhee Yu of Korea in the final match that lasted over 14 minutes. Along with Asmita, another Indian player, Swaita, secured a bronze medal in the same category.
Asmita is the first judoka from Tripura to be selected for the Indian team, and her coach, Yashpal Solanki, believes that she can win an Olympic medal for India in 2028. Earlier, she won a bronze medal in the Asian Cadet and Junior Judo Championship held in Thailand in July last year. Asmita won a gold medal in All India Inter University Judo Championship-2023, and she also won a gold medal in the All-India Khelo India Judo competition for Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal University.
In February, Asmita appealed for financial support from the state to participate in the Tashkent Grand Slam, which could have helped her to improve her current ranking and make her eligible for the 2028 Olympics. However, she was unable to participate in the Tashkent competition held in March due to a fund crunch, despite her appeal for help from the state.
Asmita’s coach, Yashpal Solanki, believes that she is very talented and ready to compete with the best in the world. “If god keeps her away from injuries, she has the capabilities to participate in at least three Olympics,” he added.
Asmita, who hails from a poor family in Belonia, where her father runs a bicycle repairing shop and her mother is a housewife, is a former talented student of Tripura Sports School. Asmita’s first guru in sports was Bina Debnath of Belonia Vidyapith Coaching Centre in South Tripura District, followed by Judo coach Manik Lal Deb of Tripura Sports School.
(With support from Tripura Times)
