Asmita's father worked as a bicycle mechanic, earning around Rs 300 a day, and the family lived in a modest mud houseAsmita Dey etched her name in history on Friday by becoming the first Indian judoka to win a Commonwealth Games gold medal. Yet, even as she stood on the podium, the one person she longed to share the moment with was missing.Speaking to PTI after winning the women’s 48kg title, the 23-year-old became emotional while remembering her father, who died of a brain stroke seven months ago. The video of the interview has since gone viral on social media, with many praising her resilience and the sacrifices made by her family.“When my father passed away, I thought everything had finished because he was the one who supported me,” Asmita said, struggling to hold back tears after her historic victory.Hailing from a small village in Tripura, Asmita said dreaming big was uncommon where she grew up. But her father never stopped believing in her, despite the family’s financial struggles.“I am from a very small village in Tripura. People there don’t dream this big. But Papa always supported me,” she said.Her father worked as a bicycle mechanic, earning around Rs 300 a day, and the family lived in a modest mud house. Even with limited resources, he made sure his daughter’s sporting ambitions never took a back seat.When a knee injury threatened her career, he took her to Delhi for treatment and arranged the medicines she needed so she could return to the mat.Story continues below this ad“He brought me to Delhi for treatment and bought medicines,” she recalled.Watch the video:VIDEO | Glasgow: The first person judoka Asmita Dey wanted to tell about her Commonwealth Games gold was the one person she no longer could do it. Her father, a cycle mechanic who earned barely Rs 300 a day and raised his family in a mud house in a small village in Tripura, died… pic.twitter.com/9dT56LxX4L— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 31, 2026 His death in December last year left Asmita devastated. Losing the person who had always stood beside her made her feel as though her dream had ended too.It was her mother, however, who encouraged her to keep going. Just 10 days after her husband’s funeral, she urged Asmita to return to training instead of giving up.Also Read | World junior squash champion Anahat Singh puts Harvard plans on hold for 2028 Olympics“If I stop you today, your father will think I am shattering your dreams,” she told her daughter.Story continues below this adAsmita’s mother, Munna Patari Dey, also spoke to The Indian Express about the sacrifices her husband made to support their daughter.“He (Asmita’s father) also took a loan of one lakh rupees to support Asmita. We wish he was alive to see his daughter win the Commonwealth Games gold today,” she said.The emotional video has struck a chord with social media users, many of whom said the gold medal was a fitting tribute to her father’s sacrifices.“God bless her! She has achieved the best thing possible; she has made the national flag rise above the rest, and we could hear our national anthem from far away across the oceans! Very few among 1.5 billion had the power to make this possible,” one user wrote.Story continues below this ad“More power to you.. this is how we want our youth to be. All the best for future endeavours.. keep dreaming big and work hard,” another commented.“You can’t even comprehend what struggles people go through man, more power to her. Dad just be so proud today,” read another comment.