April 15, 2018
CWG 2018, Highlights: Saina Nehwal beat PV Sindhu to clinch gold in women's singles badminton.
April 15, 2018
CWG 2018, Highlights: Saina Nehwal beat PV Sindhu to clinch gold in women's singles badminton.
AUSTRALIA – India became the fifth nation to breach the 500-medals mark in the history of Commonwealth Games (CWG) with a fabulous outing at the Gold Coast Games 2018 in Australia. India finished with 66 medals, including 26 Gold at the 21st CWG.
India's shooters, weightlifters, wrestlers, boxers, shuttlers and paddlers stood up when it mattered the most as India ended their CWG 2018 journey in third place behind hosts Australia and England.
India bettered their tally of medals from 2014 Glasgow Games where they had won a total of 64 medals, including 15 Gold.
India's best outing came during the 2010 Delhi Games where they crossed the 100-medals mark, winning 101. India had grabbed 38 Gold, 27 Silver and 36 Bronze to finish second behind Australia, who won 177 medals.
In Gold Coast, India got off to a brilliant start on the first day of the games itself when they won Silver in weightlifting, courtesy Gururaja. Mirabai Chanu bagged India's first Gold in 2018 Games.
India did not look back ever since with youngsters overcoming the nerves and experienced players living up to their star status.
HIGHLIGHTS OF INDIA'S IMPRESSIVE SHOW AT THE GOLD COAST
- Deepak Lather, 18, became the youngest Indian weightlifter to claim a Commonwealth Games medal when he won Bronze in the men's 69kg category. Mirabai Chanu achieved her personal best and the Games record to registered India's first Gold in Gold Coast.
- Sathish Kumar Sivalingam defended his title by winning Gold in the men's 77kg weightlifting.
- 16-year-old Manu Bhaker, on April 8, became the youngest Indian athlete to win a gold medal at the Games as she registered a record-breaking 240.9 points in the women's 10m Air Pistol event.
- Indian women's paddlers pulled off a sensational win in the Women's Team Table Tennis Gold medal match to become only the second nation to bag the yellow metal in the event after defeating the 5-time defending champions Singapore 3-1.
- Manika Batra has been one of the brightest spark of the Indian contingent. Manika, winning a total of four medals, stayed the most successful individual performer for India as she led Indian table tennis to glory in Australia. On the way to becoming the first-ever women's singles gold medal winner at the Commonwealth Games, the world No.58 beat Tianwei Feng of Singapore, world No.4, twice in both individual singles and the Team event singles. Manika, at the age of 22, won two singles matches in the women's Team event to guide India to a first-ever Gold. She also bagged India's first women's doubles Silver with Mouma Das and won a mixed doubles Bronze with Sathiyan Gnanasekaran.
- Heena Sidhu broke the Games record in the women's 25m Pistol event to win Gold.
- Muhammed Anas Yahiya missed a Bronze at the Men's 400m Final by a whisker but managed to break the national record by clocking 45.31.
- Two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar clinched Gold for India in men's wrestling 74kg category. Sushil had won Gold in 2010 and 2014 Games as well.
- 15-year-old shooter Anish created history on Friday after clinching the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Gold. The teenage shooter became India's youngest-ever medallist in CWG history.
- MC Mary Kom won the gold medal in her maiden Commonwealth Games appearance. Mary Kom defeated Northern Ireland's Kristina O'Hara 5-0 in the women's 45-48kg category to bring home the Gold.
- Sanjeev Rajput smashed the Commonwealth Games record to win the gold medal in Men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions. Rajput shot a total of 454.5 to put up a record-breaking performance and win the yellow metal.
- Neeraj Chopra struck a gold medal for India with a season-best of 86.47m in Men's Javelin Throw Final. Neeraj, who is the World Junior Record holder, threw 85.50m mark in his first attempt itself and stayed on top of the pack throughout the finals.
- Jinson Johnson was unable to clinch a medal in the Men's 1500m Final but managed to set a new national record. Johnson finished fifth in the final behind Kenya, Scotland and England with a timing of 3:37.86 seconds to break the national record by a massive difference of over four seconds.
- Saina Nehwal won her second Commonwealth Games Gold as she beat compatriot PV Sindhu in the women's singles gold medal match.
- Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost their men's doubles gold medal match but became the only men's doubles pair to grab a medal in CWG.
Courtesy/Source: India Today
