Women Hockey team lose to England
Harpal Singh Bedi
India women’s quartert wrote a new script winning a gold in Lawn Bowls while men’s table tennis team defended their title as the country picked up two golds and a silver on the fifth day of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games (CWG) on Tuesday.
India is now lying at sixth place with 12 medals, -Five Gold, Four silver and Three bronze
Women’s Fours Lawn Bowls turned out to be a fairy tale for the unheralded India. Lovely Choubey, Pinki Singh, Nayanmoni Saikia and Rupa Rani Tirkey struck gold, India’s fourth of the Games, beating South Africa 17-10 in the final. It was not only the first ever gold, but also the first ever medal for India in the sport.
The Indian quartet did not have it easy however, seeing their 8-2 lead disappear in a jiffy with the South Africans making a brilliant comeback to edge ahead 8-10 after the completion of 10 ends.
With five more ends remaining, India staged a golden comeback of their own and pulled-off a nine-point streak without reply to create history.
In the men’s team event in Table Tennis, India downed Singapore 3-1 in the final. Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Harmeet Desai beat Yong Quek and Yew Pang in the doubles 13-11, 11-7,11-5, before Zhe Yu Chew drew parity with a hard-fought win against veteran Sharath Kamal 11-7, 12-14, 11-3 and 11-9.
Sathiyan put India back in the lead with a similar four-game 12-10, 7-11, 11-7, 11-4 victory over Yew in the second singles. Harmeet Desai then finished it with a clinical 11-8, 11-5, 11-6 demolition of Zhe for India to successfully defend their crown in style.
In Weightlifting with seven medals including three gold under their belt, today it was Vikas Thakur in the 96kg category who won silver, with a total lift of 346kg.He lifted a best of 155kg in snatch and 191 in clean and jerk to finish well behind Samoan heavyweight Don Opeloge who smashed the Games record with a massive 381kg lift.
Earlier, Punam Yadav in the women’s 76kg however registered a no-lift in the clean and jerk and did not make the board as a result.
In athletics ,India tasted immediate success with Murali Sreeshankar being the best long jumper of the day with a great leap of 8.05m. Teammate Md.Anees Yahiya also qualified with a 7.68m jump to make it two Indians in the Men’s Long Jump final.
Manpreet Kaur also qualified in the Women’s Shot Put with a throw of 16.78m finishing fourth in her qualifying group. but there was disappointment for Dutee Chand in the Women’s 100m heat though as she ran 11.55 secs to finish fourth and bow out of contention.
In hockey women’s team suffered their first defeat of the campaign going down to hosts England 1-3 in their third group game. They had two victories over Ghana and Wales before this.
Hannah Martin, Tess Howard and Giselle Ansley scored for the home side as Vandana Katariya pulled one back for India in the fourth quarter of the game.
In Swimming, Srihari Nataraj qualified as the first reserve in the Men’s 200m backstroke, finishing his heat in third place with a timing of 2.00.84mins. Advait Page and Kushagra Rawat also qualified from their respective Men’s 1500m freestyle heats with the former clocking 15.39.25 mins in his heat and the latter 15.47.77 mins, as both registered identical fourth place finishes.
Sunayna Kuruvila registered a fluent win in the first women’s singles Plate semi-final. Sunayna steamrolled Pakistan’s Faiza Zafar 11-2, 11-4, 11-5.
However, Saurav Ghosal went out in the men’s singles semis against former world number one and current British Open champion Paul Coll of New Zealand 11-9, 11-4, 11-1, in straight games.
India have so far won five gold, four silver and three bronze medal.
President Droupadi Murmu has congratulated Lovely Choubey, Rupa Rani Tirkey, Pinki and Nayanmoni Saikia for doing the unprecedented by winning the gold medal in lawn bowls at Commonwealth Games. In a tweet, Ms Murmu said, their resolve in the see-saw battle for victory in the finals made the country proud and inspired every Indian.
President Droupadi Murmu also congratulated Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Sharath Kamal, Harmeet Desai and Sanil Shetty for winning the historic gold in table tennis at Commonwealth Games. In a tweet, Ms Murmu said, they showed extraordinary skill and determination. She said, they have won the heart of the nation. Ms Murmu expressed confidence that this feat will inspire the youth.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has congratulated the Women’s team for winning Gold medal in Lawn Bowl : Womens Fours event at Commonwealth Games 2022. In a tweet, Mr Naidu said, this remarkable achievement by Lovely Choubey, Pinki, Nayanmoni Saikia and Rupa Rani Tirkey will inspire many youngsters to take up the sport.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated Lovely Choubey, Pinki Singh, Nayanmoni Saikia and Rupa Rani Tirkey for bringing home the prestigious Gold in Lawn Bowls atb the Commonwealth Games. In a tweet, Mr Modi said, India is proud of them. He said, it is a historic win in Birmingham. The Prime Minister said, the team has demonstrated great dexterity and their success will motivate many Indians towards Lawn Bowls.
Congratulating the dynamic team of G. Sathiyan, Harmeet Desai, Sharat Kamal and Sanil Shetty for winning the Gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, it is great news in Table Tennis. He said, this team has set high benchmarks, be it in skill or determination. Mr Modi conveyed best wishes for their future endeavours.
Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur has congratulated the team members who won Gold Medal today in Lawn Bowls at the Commonwealth Games. In a tweet, Mr Thakur said, the nation is absolutely ecstatic that the Women’s Fours Team – Lovely Choubey, Pinki , Nayanmoni Saikia and Rupa Rani Tirkey has fetched the nation its first ever Lawn Bowls medal defeating South Africa 17-10 in the final. He said, it is a Historic Gold for India in Commonwealth Games Lawn Bowls.
Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur also congratulated the Indian Men’s Table Tennis team on winning Gold Medal in Commonwealth Games. In a tweet, he said, it was a stellar show by the Indian Men’s Table Tennis team. Mr Thakur said, the nation is exhilarated by the way, the paddlers led by Sharath Kamal, G. Sathiyan and Harmeet Desai outclassed the formidable Singapore 3-1. He said, India defended the crown successfully.