Birmingham, Aug 8 (Agency) India concluded its commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022 campaign on fourth place in the medal tally with 22 Gold, 15 Silver and 23 Bronze medals and a total of 61 medals. India finished the final day on an absolute medal rush by securing four gold, one silver and a bronze medals. Even though India couldn’t surpass their medal tally from Gold Coast Games, considering Shooting was not included in this edition, it has been an excellent performance by the Indian Contingent in 2022 edition of the games.
The Indian shuttlers were outstanding throughout the games as they secured 6 medals (three Gold, one Silver, two Bronze) in the six categories with only mixed doubles missing out. Ace shuttler P V Sindhu started the final day by securing India’s first Gold of the day by beating seasoned Canadian Michelle Li in straight sets 21-15, 21-13. Then, Lakshya Sen showed grit to come from behind to beat the in-form Malaysian Tze Yong Ng in three sets 19-21, 21-9, 21-16. In the mens doubles final the pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty made light work of the English pairing of Ben Lane and Sean Vendy 21-15, 21-13. Veteran paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal has certified himself as a CWG legend after he secured gold in the men’s singles table tennis.
He beat Liam Pitchford of England in 5 games (11-13, 11-7, 11-2, 11-6, 11-8). This is his third gold of the games and his fourth in total in 2022. Sharath has won a total of 13 medals in CWG. Earlier Sathiyan Gnanasekaran had secured bronze in the men’s singles making after beating Englishman Paul Drinkhall in a nail biting encounter in 7 games (11-9, 11-3, 11-5, 8-11, 9-11,10-12,11-9). The men’s Hockey team could only settle for a silver as they were drowned by Australia 7-0. India could not settle in the game at any point as they succumbed to the relentless pressure by the Aussies. The Birmingham Games has been a brilliant spectacle and it will come to a close. The closing ceremony will happen early morning (IST) and the Indian Contingent will be led out by Sharath Kamal and boxer Nikhat Zareen.