Commonwealth Games: PV Sindhu strikes gold on third attempt; Lakshya Sen claims the yellow metal on CWG debut

PV Sindhu, quite easily one of the most decorated Indian badminton players ever, finally has a singles gold after three attempts at the Commonwealth Games. It is her first gold at a multi-discipline Games, including Olympic Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and even South Asian Federation Games. The 21-15, 21-13 scoreline for Sindhu had Michelle remarking, “She played very well today. In the eight years since we first met in CWG in 2014, she has grown stronger and better, and I have had injuries. I think I played well. But she was much better.” Lakshya Sen produced a golden debut in his first multi-disciplined Games ever. Lakshya won 19-21, 21-9, 21-16 in a little over 70 minutes as India won both men’s and women’s singles at a CWG for the first time ever. When Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty outplayed their English opponents Ben Lane and Sean Vendy 21-15, 21-13 they became the first Indian pair to strike gold in the men’s doubles. Those three gold medals together sought to wipe out the painful loss at the hands of Malaysia in the team final. And to a large extent that did happen, as Kidambi Srikanth took bronze in the singles. It was Srikanth’s defeat in the men’s singles at the hands of the new Malaysian star, Ng Tze Yong that led to India’s failure to defend the mixed team title they had wrested from Malaysia in 2018. With Srikanth’s bronze in men’s singles and women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, India’s total badminton tally from the Games was three gold, one silver (Mixed Team event) and two bronze. The only event they did not win a medal in was the mixed doubles where Ashwini Ponappa and Sumith Reddy lost in the second round. Her first gold medal from a major multi-discipline Games also took the monkey off her back, even though as she herself pointed out that she did have a World Championship and other titles. The relief was evident as she threw up her hands and then went to hug her coach, Park Tae Sang, after beating an old foe, Canadian Michelle Li. The same Michelle had dealt Sindhu a semi-final defeat in her debut in 2014. Thrilled with her win, Sindhu admitted, “I’ve been waiting for this 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,” she said. “We’ve waited four years now and we’re finally here. The Commonwealth Games was really good for me, it was a good tournament.” On any celebration plans, she added, “Definitely I’m going to celebrate. We will just go out as a team or something like that. [Then] I’ll go back to India and celebrate with my family members. “Soon we’re going to go back home and I’m going to celebrate with my parents. They’ve really supported me and they’re back there watching the match. It will really mean the world to meet them, it’s their hard work and dedication, too.” With the World Championships later this month, the Asian Games next year and the Olympics in 2024, she has a lot more to aim for. Smilingly, she pointed out, “I did win the Worlds and this year I had Singapore and more (Syed Modi International and Swiss Open). Yes, (but) in a way the new cycle has begun this year.” The gold also completed a full set of CWG medals for Sindhu, who had a bronze in 2014 (in Glasgow) followed by a loss in 2018 (Gold Coast), when she lost the final to Saina Nehwal. Lakshya’s time comes early Soon after Sindhu’s win and medal presentation, Lakshya came onto the stage and made it his own with a three-game win over Ng Tze Yong. The Indian lost the opening game, but then won the second as the tiring Malaysian seem to give up in the second when the lead was too big to cover. He seemed to be conserving his energy. But that may also have given Lakshya time to think on his strategy and he became even more aggressive in the decider. “He had won most of his tight matches in three games and he had the luxury of taking it easy in last stages of second when the lead became big,” said Lakshya, who trains at Prakash Padukone’s Academy. The decider like the rest of the match had some incredible rallies and had every shot in the game, from drives, drops to tosses, smashes and impossible returns. A few rallies even went over 50 strokes. Lakshya also signalled the arrival of an exuberant young champion, who could become a major crowd favourite. After closing the match, he threw his racket into the crowd and then followed it up with his wrist bands into. The he took off and threw his sweaty T-shirt before changing into a new one. The crowd roared and loved it and may have found a new favourite when he returns to the iconic All England Championship in Birmingham’s Arena next year. Lakshya said, “As a kid I would dream of playing All England and Thomas Cup and Commonwealth Games, because Prakash (Padukone) Sir had been the first to win it. So, to be able to win Commonwealth Games gold is like a dream. I speak to him after every tournament and will do that again.” Sindhu-Michelle continue an old rivalry, as Lakshya-Tze start a new one Even as Sindhu and Michelle Li continued a rivalry that began way back in 2014 as Sindhu was playing her third CWG and Michelle her fourth. In contrast, both Lakshya and Tze Yong were making their CWG debuts. One can look forward to a long rivalry between the two, who show so much variety in their play. As Malaysia’s past masters like Lee Chong Wei and Lee Zii Jia leave the stage, Tze Yong is ready. Sindhu became only the second Indian woman to win the CWG Gold, after two-time winner Saina Nehwal (2010 and 2018), Lakshya became the fourth Indian male to win the CWG Singles after Prakash Padukone (1978), late Syed Modi (1982) and Parupalli Kashyap (2014). Read all the  Latest News ****,  Trending News ****,  Cricket News ****,  Bollywood News ****,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook****,  Twitter and  Instagram