2 min readApr 18, 2026 07:00 AM IST
Indian judoka Takhellambam Inunganbi ended a 13-year medal drought at the Asian Judo Championships after winning the bronze medal in the women’s -70 kg category on Friday. The 27-year-old judoka’s bronze medal is the first medal won by an Indian at the continental championships after Angom Anita Chanu won a bronze in the women’s -52kg category at the 2013 edition held in Bangkok, Thailand.
Competing in Ordos. China, Inunganbi defeated Mongolia’s Lkhagvadulam Sarantsetseg by ippon in the bronze medal match to secure her spot on the podium. She also had won the gold medal at the Amman Asian Open last year.
She got a bye in the first round and started directly in the quarter-finals, where she lost to Uzbekistan’s Shirinjon Yuldoshova. However, as Yuldoshova reached the final, Inunganbi claimed her first win the repechage defeating Alina Moldokulova of Kyrgyzstan. After that, she claimed the bronze medal with a dominant win over the Mongolian.
India had another medal bout on the day but Yamini Mourya bowed down to a Japan’s Mina Komiyama in the women’s 57kg bronze medal bout. The final four Indian Judokas, two each in men’s and women’s, including Commonwealth Games medalist Tulika Maan, will be in action on Saturday.
Including Inunganbi’s medal, Indians have won a total of 16 medals at the Continental championships with four silver and 12 bronze medals. No Indian judoka has won a gold medal yet. Poonam Chopra (1993), Najib Aga (1995), Pankaj Sharma (1997) and Ramashrey Yadav (2009) are the silver medal winners.
India has fielded a full strength team of 18 judokas for the ongoing continental meet. India’s biggest medal hope will be 2024 Paris Olympian and Commonwealth Games medallist Tulika Maan who will feature in the women’s +78kg division on the final day.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
