India extended its golden run on the final day of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Monday, grabbing the yellow metal in four of the five events Indian athletes participated in, and ended fourth in the overall tally.
The highlights were ace shuttler P V Sindhu adding an elusive Commonwealth gold to her array of medals, and 40-year-old Achanta Sharath Kamal’s star turn as the most decorated Indian athlete as he bagged four medals — three golds and a silver — at the Games.
Praising the immensely talented Sharath, President Droupadi Murmu tweeted that Indians were delighted that “our tricolour soars at the podium due to your special feat”.
India won 22 gold, 16 silver and 23 bronze medals, edging out New Zealand on the last day and finishing behind Australia, hosts England and Canada.
Three wins in badminton
It was a day to rejoice Sindhu, who won the women’s singles final beating Canada’s Michelle Li in straight sets.
The world number seven outplayed her 13th ranked opponent 21-15, 21-13 in front of a packed crowd at the NEC arena.
“I’ve been waiting for this (gold) for a long time now. Of course I’m super happy. I’ve finally done it. From day one it was important to keep my tempo high and be confident that I can do it,” an elated Sindhu said after claiming the top honour.”
Contrary to the final scoreline, Sindhu said overcoming Li was not an easy task. “It was very important to be very focused and in the rhythm. We know each other’s game. There are no easy points so even though I was leading I made sure I was very focused.”
The 10th ranked Lakshya Sen doubled India’s delight winning the men’s singles final in his first ever Commonwealth Games. The 20-year-old defeated world number 42, Malaysia’s Tze Yong N G, 19-21, 21-9, 21-16. “It was tense in the start, I had to work really hard. Yong also played a great tournament. Congratulations to him as well,” said Sen after the hard fought contest.
India also won its first Commonwealth men’s doubles gold in badminton. The star pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy won 21-15, 21-13 against England’s Ben Lane and Sean Mendy.
TT glory
Ace table tennis player Sharath Kamal extended his domination at the Games, winning his third gold of the season in the men’s singles category.
Kamal beat England’s Liam Pitchford 4-1 after losing the first set. The Tamil Nadu-born superstar paddler has a rich haul of four medals at this edition of the Games, having won the men’s team and mixed team gold and a silver in the men’s doubles event.
Meanwhile, Sathiyan Ganasekaran bagged his maiden Commonwealth Games singles medal as he grabbed a bronze by defeating Britain’s Paul Drinkhall 4-3 in front of a packed crowd.
Wait for hockey gold continues
The Indian men’s hockey team took a 7-0 beating from defending champions Australia, settling for a silver in the final match of the day.
Up against the rampaging Australians, Indians struggled to get their act right in the summit showdown, which turned out to be completely lopsided. The structure which the Indians are known for was nowhere to be seen. The defence looked shaky, while there was no co-ordination between the midfield and forward line.
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