CWG 2018: Gold for badminton, Silver in squash and TT gets bronze

Gold Coast (Australia): Proving their mettle in the 21st edition of the Commonwealth Games, CWG 2018, the Indian badminton, squash and Table Tennis players clinched the major titles on Sunday.

Here is the detailed description:

Saina Nehwal wins women's singles title

Indian star Saina Nehwal defeated compatriot PV Sindhu by straight games to win the women's singles title in the badminton competition.

Saina displayed some superb form to clinch a 21-18, 23-21 victory in the final.

Saina was fired up and played with power and aggression to put Sindhu under pressure right from the start. Sindhu on the other hand, struggled to match her compatriot although she gave a stiff fight in the second game.

Sindhu struggled with her placements during the opening game, her best shot being a well-placed one into the left corner of Saina's side of the court at 9-12 but the latter had forced the lead right at the start of the first game and continued to increase the advantage at a steady pace.

A superb drop shot gave Saina a 19-15 lead before Sindhu fought back to reduce the gap. But Sindhu's poor accuracy let her down once again as she fired an attempted return into the net to give Saina the first game.

The second game was a totally different story as Sindhu picked up the tempo. Saina had taken the early lead in the second game as well before she fired one wide to allow Sindhu to draw level at 4-4.

Saina continued to fight hard, attempting to chip away at the deficit. Sindhu managed to hold on to the lead for a long time. But the constant pressure by Saina finally paid off when she drew level at 19-19.

But Sindhu was not to be so easily defeated. She drew level once again with some excellent net play before Saina toook the lead once again with a well placed smash.

Saina's patience and fighting spirit finally paid off as an under pressure Sindhu faltered at the net to hit one wide to hand her opponent the gold.

Also Read: IPL: Delhi Daredevils register thrilling win over Mumbai Indians

Dipika-Joshna wins silver in women's doubles squash

Defending champions Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa settled for the silver in women's doubles squash after losing to New Zealand's Joelle King and Amanda Landers-Murphy here on Sunday.

The Indian duo lost 0-2 (9-11, 8-11) to the Kiwis in the pulsating 22-minute summit clash at the Oxenford Studios here.

Sharath Kamal bags TT men's singles bronze

India's Achanta Sharath Kamal on Sunday bagged the bronze medal in men's singles table tennis competition.

The World No.48 Indian defeated the Englishman 4-1 (11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 12-10) in the play-off match for the third place at the Oxenford Studios here.

Sharath looked at his aggressive best, comfortably pocketing the opening two games.

This was Sharath's third medal at the Gold Coast games. He was a part of the gold medal-winning men's team and also won silver in the men's doubles event at the games.

This is his third Commonwealth Games singles medal after winning bronze at the 2010 Games and gold in the 2006 edition. He had missed out on a medal in Glasgow. He remains the only Indian to win the men's singles title at the Games.

This caps off a memorable edition of the Games for the Indian table tennis team who have won seven medals at Gold Coast, including three golds, two silvers and two bronzes.

Also Read: IPL 2018: KKR’s injured Kamlesh Nagarkoti replaced by Prasidh

Srikanth settles for men's singles silver in Badminton

Indian star Kidambi Srikanth had to remain satisfied with the silver medal after losing to an inspired Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in the men's singles badminton final.

Indian star Kidambi Srikanth had to remain satisfied with the silver medal after losing to an inspired Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in the men's singles badminton final

Lee was on a completely different level in the next game. Srikanth had started well, taking the the lead initially, but Lee took the lead at 11-9 and fought back some ferocious efforts by the Indian to increase his lead slowly but surely until he took the second game to draw level.

The Malaysian continued his domination in the third and final game, opening up an early lead.

Srikanth had no answer to the superb placements, quickness and accuracy of his illustrous opponent as the two rivals went into the mid game break with Lee in command of a comfortable 11-5 lead.

Lee continued to plunder points as will before closing off the game by a comfortable margin to seal the title.