How Harsh fought through pain to script CWG history, now targets Asiad medal

NEW DELHI: Harsh Singh's right knee still swells. It still hurts. Every time the Indian judoka steps onto the mat, he is reminded of the ACL and meniscus tear that nearly derailed his career. But at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, pain took a back seat as the 23-year-old scripted history by becoming India's first-ever men's judo gold medallist."The pain never really goes away," Singh told TOI in an interview on Thursday. "Sometimes my knee still swells up and feels tight. During the CWG, I felt the pain and the knee occasionally got swollen. After surgery, the joint never became exactly the way it was before. There's always a little discomfort during fights. You have to ignore it and continue. The medal kept me going."The historic triumph came less than a year after Singh tore his ACL and meniscus while training at the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) in Aug 2025. Surgery followed in Oct last in Bengaluru before a year-long rehabilitation helped him return to competition."I was in rehabilitation for almost a year. The entire coaching team at the IIS, recovery specialists and Spencer sir (Mackay, S&C expert) helped me throughout. They rebuilt my strength step by step. Because of the IIS and their entire team, I was able to come back on the mat, qualify for the CWG and represent India," he said.The comeback demanded another battle off the mat. Months away from competition saw his weight rise to nearly 72kg, forcing him to shed more than 12kg to return to his 60kg category. Gold at a ranking tournament and bronze at the senior National championships sealed his place in India's CWG squad.Despite lingering discomfort, Singh dominated in Glasgow, with only a hard-fought semifinal stretching him before he clinched the historic title."The semifinal (against the Australian Pedro Carlos) was the toughest. In the 60kg category, even a small point can decide the match. We didn't want to concede anything and stayed aggressive," he recalled.With CWG gold secured, Singh has already shifted his attention to next year's Asian Games. Training stints in Japan and South Korea are part of his preparations as he looks to bridge the gap with Asia's best."I want to improve my speed, grip and strength. Japanese and Korean players are very fast, so training there will help," he said.Born into a modest family, with his father working as a daily-wage labourer, Singh once trained without owning a judo uniform. Support from the govt's schemes and a privately funded athletes' training centre changed the course of his career."My life has changed because of this medal. More people have started noticing judo," he said. "But the best compliment came from my family. They told me, 'You have made the entire family proud.' That meant more than anything else."Having conquered injury to create CWG history, Singh's next aim is clear — turning a gritty comeback into an Asian Games podium finish.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.