CWG 2014: Dipika Pallikal-Joshana Chinappa Grab Gold, India Pick Up Medals Aplenty

mangaloretoday.com/ NDTV

Glasgow, August 3: Dipika Pallikal and Joshana Chinappa etched their name in Indian squash history by winning the country’s first Commonwealth Games medal - a gold - from the discipline, while boxers, powerlifters and shuttlers, and a triple jumper picked up a clutch of prized metals on the penultimate day of competition here on Saturday.

 

India’s medal count swelled to an impressive 61 as men pugilists Vijender Singh, L. Devendro Singh, Mandeep Jangra and their woman counterpart L. Sarita Devi finished with silvers. Powerlifter Sakina Khatun and shuttlers P.V. Sindhu and R.M.V. Gurusaidutt added to the tally by picking up bronze pieces.

The medal bounty - 14 gold medals, 28 silver and 19 bronze - affirmed India’s fifth rank on the leaderboard, after England, Australia, Canada and hosts Scotland.

India will be in the medals race on the concluding day as well, with the men’s hockey team taking on holders Australia in the final, and shuttlers Parupalli Kashyap and the pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa reaching the summit round.

Pallikal and Chinappa combined well to run away with the women’s doubles final in straight games 11-6, 11-8 against England’s Jenny Duncalf and Laura Massaro at the Scotstoun Sports Campus.

Though Dipika and Joshana won the first game quite comfortably, they were trailing in the second to the English pair. However, the Indians displayed nerves of steel to overtake their opponents and come out on top to clinch the yellow metal.

India’s hopes for boxing gold remained unfulfilled, with all the four pugilists capitulating in the finals.