 "Nihal Sarin's surprise lead at FIDE Grand Swiss: The dark horse among the young Indian chess stars")
 "Manchester United continue facing uncertainty over Fernandes despite midfielder's commitment to Old Trafford")
Day 8 report: Indian wrestlers won four medals, including a gold each from Sushil Kumar and Rahul Aware, while Seema and Navjeet Dhillon clinched the silver and bronze medal respectively in the women’s discus throw and Tejaswini Sawant continued the good performance from shooters with a silver as the country took its medals tally to 31. Women wrestlers also came to the party with Babita Kumari taking silver in the 53kg category while Kiran bagged a bronze in the 76kg division, even as the women’s hockey team lost in the semi-finals, while the shuttlers and paddlers continued to shine bright. [caption id=“attachment_4425549” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]
The Indian team in a huddle during a hockey match against Malaysia. AFP[/caption] At the end of Thursday, India remains in the third spot with 31 medals (14 gold, 7 silver and 10 bronze) behind Australia (156 medals) and England (31 medals). Canada is fourth, accumulating 60 medals (12 gold, 29 silver, 19 bronze). The first medal of the day was earned by Tejaswini, who notched up a score of 618.9 to take silver in the women’s 50m Rifle Prone event. Anjum Moudgil, the other Indian in the fray, produced a disappointing performance. She scored 602.2 to finish 16th in the field of 20 competitors. Then the wrestlers took charge, with Sushil defending his crown in the men’s 74 kg category which he had won at the 2014 edition in Glasgow. Sushil needed just 80 seconds to overpower Johannes Botha of South Africa by technical superiority, awarded after he raced to a 10-0 lead in the final. It was Sushil’s third consecutive gold in the CWG. Maharashtra wrestler Aware, who was appearing in his first CWG, won the gold in the men’s 57 kg category in style. The Maharashtra wrestler outclassed Steven Takahashi of Canada 15-7 in the final. The good work was continued in the athletics events. Seema and Navjeet finished second and third spots in the discus throw. In her first attempt, Seema successfully got past the 60 metre-mark with her best throw of 60.41m to bag silver. This is her fourth successive podium finish in this event at the Games, following silver in both 2006 and 2014, and a bronze at home in Delhi in 2010. Arpinder Singh and AV Rakesh Babu entered the final of the men’s triple jump, while Purnima Hembram was sixth at the halfway stage of the heptathlon to make it a successful day for India. However, there were disappointments in hockey, with the women’s team losing 0-1 to Australia in the semi-final. Grace Stewart’s 37th-minute field goal gave the hosts the win to set-up a title clash with New Zealand, who overcame England 2-1 via a penalty shootout in the other semi-final. India will play England in the bronze-medal playoff on Saturday at the Gold Coast Hockey Centre. In badminton, star singles shuttlers PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy entered the quarter-finals, while Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy also enjoyed a successful day as they reached the last-eight stages in both the doubles categories. In squash action, the mixed doubles pair of Dipika Pallikal and Saurav Ghosal and the men’s doubles combination of Vikram Malhotra and Ramit Tandon entered the semi-finals and quarter-finals respectively. However, the other mixed doubles pair of Joshna Chinappa and Harinder Pal Sandhu had to suffer defeats in the quarters. In table tennis, India’s singles and doubles players outscored their respective opponents to advance while the para paddlers and Madhurika Patkar were the only disappointments on the day at the 21st Commonwealth Games here on Thursday. Para paddlers Vaishnavi Sutar and Maitreyee Sarkar failed to qualify to the semi-finals of women’s TT6-10 singles as the former managed to win just one of her three group stage matches, while Vaishnavi failed to notch a single win to finish at the bottom of her group. Achanta Sharath Kamal, Harmeet Desai, G. Sathiyan, Manika Batra and Mouma Das all enjoyed in the singles and doubles actions. With inputs from IANS Click
here
for the schedule of Indian athletes on Day 9 Click
here
for the medal tally
Highlights, Commonwealth Games 2018 at Gold Coast, results: Anish Bhanwala, Bajrang Punia help India end Day 9 with 42 medals
Catch all the latest updates from an action-packed Day 9 of the Commonwealth Games at Australia’s Gold Coast.
)
And it’s the end of Day 10. India won a total of nine medals.
15-year-old Anish Bhanwala became India’s youngest-ever gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games after winning the Men’s 25m rapid fire pistol event.
Tejaswini Sawant won her second medal at Gold Coast after winning gold in the 50m rifle. Compatriot Anjum Moudgil also bagged silver in the same event.
Wrestlers put on a show with Bajrang Punia winning gold, Pooja Dhanda and Mausam Khatri a silver each, and Divya Kakran a bronze. Hussainuddin and Manoj Kumar claimed bronze medals in boxing.
That’s it from us. We will be back with live coverage of Day 11 tomorrow. Hope you liked our blog. See you soon.
Boxing:
Keddy Agnes’ of Seychelles throws in the towel after suffering a cut on the face. Kumar’s quick moves were too hot to handle. The Indian boxer advances to the final
Ashwini and Satwik defeated World No 7 pair in straight games to enter last four of mixed doubles event.
Badminton: Men’s singl****es
India’s HS Prannoy beats Dinuka Karunaratna 21-13, 21-6 to book a spot in the semi-finals. An important straight-game victory for the Indian there as his next opponent is former World No 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia.
Boxing: Men’s 75 kg
India’s Vikas Krishan wins and is through to the men’s 75kg final. Utter domination by the Indian boxer. With that win, he enters the final!
FULL TIME: New Zealand 3-2 India
NZ have made it to the CWG Final. India thought they had the weaker of the opponent in the Kiwis were surprised when NZ took a 2-0 lead. After that it was an uphill battle. For NZ, their GK Joyce had a terrific match keeping away at least 10 goal bound chances. India slightly predictable in the pattern they employed probably gave NZ a better chance of keeping them away. The Kiwis defence was good. India despite 18 strikes at goal could only convert twice. NZ was cool. India was always in a hurry. They never stabilised the game. Brought it under their control.
Badminton: Men’s singles
Elsewhere, India’s HS Prannoy is in action against Sri Lanka’s Dinuka Karunaratna in the men’s singles badminton quarter-final. He wins the first game to take the lead over the Sri Lankan.
Table tennis: Women’s doubles
A well-deserved silver medal for Manika Batra and Mouma Das.
The Indian duo lost to Singapore’s Tianwei Feng, Mengyu Yu in straight games. However, they were rewareded for their fantastic run at Gold Coast. This is just the beginning.
New Zealand stretching the field with long hits and aerials. India has only used the aerial once. But play slightly predictable. Same patterns on the flank and not using the middle of the pitch. NZ leads 3-1 as time ticks away.
Minutes ticking away; one goal from India could change the complexion. Kiwis could be forced to defend. NZ leads 3-1.
Boxing: Men’s 69 kg semi-finals
Manoj Kumar, the 2010 gold medallist, lost to Pat McCormack on technical superiority. The Englishman was on top in each of the three rounds. Manoj Kumar, Hussamuddin and Naman Tanwar won bronze medals in boxing.
GOAL! New Zealand 3-1
New Zealand took advantage from penalty corner. PR Sreejesh dived to his right for a brilliant save but Marcus Child puts the ball away on the rebound. India under massive pressure.
Bronze for India
Hussamuddin loses in the semi-finals by a unanimous decision but he claims a medal on his CWG debut.
GOAL! India pull one back…
India are back in the match with a stroke converted by Harmanpreet. At that point, India was unable to make it count as NZ was playing possession. But a rough tackle by Panchia and a yellow card led to a PC which led to a stroke. It’s 1-2. But India need to control the pace. And set the agenda. Two quarters to go.
India vs New Zealand
New Zealand simply refusing to give the ball to India. No possession, no ball means no attacks. Midfield is being pushed back. It’s completely static. Sreejesh brings off a good save on NZ’s 1st PC. India needs something new. High press or pack the midfield. But they need to change the game.
Badminton: Women’s singles
Top seed PV Sindhu is through to the last four at Gold Coast after registering a 21-14, 21-17 win over Canada’s Brittney Tam. So, as expected, Saina Nehwal and Sindhu have qualified for the semi-finals. Oh, an all-Indian final would be perfect here!
GOAL: New Zealand 2-0 India
Terrible defensive pass; deflects off Manpreet stick and Jenness tucks it between his legs and past Sreejesh. Lovely goal. India imploding, are they? They need to go back to the rotation. Get some confidence back. End of Q1. NZ 2-0.
GOAL! New Zealand 1-0 India
New Zealand draw first blood. Super goal, reverse hit by Inglis which beats Sreejesh easily. India did start well with a few opportunities. India’s PC was saved by NZ. India trying the counter to catch NZ at the back. But the Kiwis are careful, not giving away possession. It’s tough going at the moment.
Stats are in India’s favour – India and NZ have played 95 matches:
India — Won 51 Lost 27 Drawn 17 matches
India vs New Zealand!
India has the team they wanted in the semi-finals. But knock-outs are not decided on rankings and sometimes even form. Ask Argentina that who won the 2016 Olympic Games. They had lost to India in the Pool matches but it is India who went out at the QF stage and the South Americans won Gold. New Zealand surely doesn’t look like the team India played and beat in the 4-Nation in January. This team looks more compact and very solid in the defence.
But India has a PC battery and a forward line that can change the fortunes of a match within seconds.
Squash: Women’s doub****les
India’s Dipika Pallikal and Saurav Ghosal enter the final after winning an end-to-end semi-final in three games against New Zealand’s Coll and King.
Table tennis: Men’s doubles
No all-Indian men’s doubles final as Sanil Shetty and Harmeet Desai lose their semi-final clash to England’s Paul Drinkhall and Liam Pitchford 3-0. The English pair will take on Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan G in Saturday’s final.
Wrestling: Men’s 97kg freestyle
Erasmus, the African champion, proved to be too good for the Indian grappler. Khatri couldn’t breach his opponent’s defence. Notably, the South African went for the 4-point technique and achieved it with ease. Silver for Khatri!
Table tennis: Men’s doubles
India’s Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan G advance to the final of the men’s doubles event after beating Singapore’s Yew En Koen Pang and Shao Feng Ethan Poh 3-1. The Indian duo lost the first game 7-11 but fought back brilliantly to deny the Singaporeans.
Harmeet Desai and Sanil Shetty are yet to play their semi-final match. An all-Indian final is still on the cards!
Come on, Sharath and Sathiyan!
Badminton: Mixed doubles
Defeat for India as Sikki Reddy and Pranaav Jerry Chopra lose in straight games in the mixed doubles quarter-finals. Peng Soon and Liu Gog of Malaysia won 21-17, 21-12 to enter the last four.
Wrestling: Women’s 57kg freesty****le
India’s Pooja Dhanda gets the silver medal. Nigeria’s Odunayo Adekuoroye, who is the defending champion raced to a 6-1 lead after the first period. But Dhanda staged a late fightback in the second period to win two points.
Time for gold medal action in women’s 57kg freestyle.
India’s Pooja Dhanda takes on Odunayo Adekuoroye of Nigeria in the final.
Badminton: Mixed doubles
India’s mixed doubles duo of Sikki Reddy and Pranaav Jerry Chopra lose the opening game 17-21 against Malaysia’s Peng Soon Chan and Liu Goh
Wrestling: Men’s 65kg freestyle
Well, Bajrang Punia dominates his opponent to register an emphatic 10-0 win to the top of the podium in men’s 65 kg freestyle category. He had won silver in Glasgow and that’s a well-deserved win for the Indian grappler.
Wrestling:
Bajrang Punia is in action against Kane Charig of Wales in the gold-medal match. The Indian is the favourite to win the yellow metal at the end of two rounds.
Wrestling: Women’s 68 kg freestyle
Divya Kakaran loses 11-1 on technical superiority. Nigeria’s Oburududu Blessing attacked from the word go and her defence was equally strong.
Table tennis: Men’s singles
India’s Sathiyan G’s campaign comes to an end after losing to England’s Samuel Walker in straight games, which means Sharath Kamal is the only Indian to make it to the men’s singles semis.
