CWG 2014: Dipika Pallikal, Joshna Chinappa bag India’s maiden squash gold

Glasgow: Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa created history by winning the first-ever gold medal in squash but disappointment was in store for the four Indian boxers, including Olympic bronze winner Vijender Singh, who had to be content with a silver each in the 20th Commonwealth Games on Saturday. [caption id=“attachment_1646923” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Dipika Pallikal (left) and Joshana Chinappa (courtesy: AFP)[/caption] Dipika and Joshna stole the limelight with their historic feat as they beat Jenny Duncalf and Laura Massaro of England 11-6, 11-8 in the women’s doubles squash final on the 10th day of competitions in this edition. It was the first squash medal for India in the Commonwealth Games. Vijender Singh, Mandeep Jangra, Sarita Devi and Devendro Singh were the other star performers during the day with their silver-winning achievements in the boxing ring while A Arpinder Singh bagged a bronze in men’s triple jump. P Kashyap stood just a win away from a historic gold while P V Sindhu and RMV Gurusaidutt managed a bronze each in the badminton competition. Delhi Games gold medallist pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, too, were on course to defend the women’s doubles title after winning their last-four match at the Emirates Arena. Rajinder Rahelu and Sakina Khatun claimed a silver and a bronze each in men’s heavyweight and women’s lightweight Powerlifting, respectively, as India made a last-ditch effort to boost their medals tally. Vijender, a bronze medallist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, was comprehensively beaten 3-0 by England’s Antony Fowler in men’s middleweight 75kg bout at the SSE Hydro Arena. With the four silvers, India has bagged five medals from boxing with Pinki Jangra having won a bronze after losing her semifinal bout against Michaela Walsh of Northern Ireland in women’s 51kg category on Friday. In men’s hockey, India came from two goals down to defeat New Zealand 3-2 in the semifinals to set up a summit showdown with holders Australia. Trailing 0-2 in the 18th minute, India sans regular skipper Sardar Singh were revived by strikes from Rupinder Singh Pal, Ramandeep Singh and Akashdeep Singh, who ensured at least a silver medal. Saturday’s collection took India’s overall tally to 61 with 14 golds, 28 silvers and 19 bronzes. India maintained their fifth position in the medal standings with England topping the charts with a total collection of 161 medals followed by Australia (130), Canada (81) and Scotland (52). The fifth-seeded Indian pair of Dipika and Joshna made short work of their English opponents with a 11-6, 11-8 win in the best-of-three game final. PTI