Published Aug 09, 2022 | 1:13 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 09, 2022 | 1:18 PM
The Indian badminton contingent finished and improved on their performance at the 2018 Gold Coast winning a total of six medals, including three golds. (Twitter / BAI Media)
Non-stop chants of “let’s go India, let’s go”, “come on Sindhu”, “come on Lakshay”, and “come on Satchi” rocked the Birmingham National Exhibition Hall on Monday, 8 August, which witnessed the CWG badminton finals.
India won a treble of gold medals as PV Sindhu, the doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Reddy and Chirag Shetty, and the CWG debutant Lakshya Sen performed splendidly.
The Indian badminton contingent improved their performance this edition by winning a total of six medals, including three golds.
Even though Sindhu has won three major badminton tournaments this year, the CWG gold is a special one, as it is her first in the Games. With this, the Indian badminton queen’s set of CWG medals includes a bronze in 2014 Glasgow and a silver in 2018 Gold Coast.
The Hyderabad-born shuttler took on Canada’s Michelle Li — 2014 CWG gold medalist — in the final. She won comfortably 21-15, and 21-13 in straight games.
As expected, Sindhu showed a blend of speed and skill throughout the game. She had a phenomenal start in both the games and wrapped up the match in 48 minutes.
There was no moment in the match when the two-times Olympic medalist trailed and with her long reach and calm attitude proved to be a tough nut to crack.
A consistent performer throughout 2022, Sen did not disappoint the Indian fans on the big day.
After an unexpected start in the first game, which Sen lost narrowly 19-21, the Bengaluru-based shuttler did not lose heart and kept his nerve for the remaining two games.
Sen, who was facing Malaysia’s world number 42 NG Tze Yong, lifted the gold with a 19-21, 21-19, 21-16 win in his first CWG.
🏸LAKSHYA ACHIEVED 🥇!!
Our young sensation @lakshya_sen clinches the GOLD after a solid comeback, winning 2-1 (19-21 21-9 21-16) against Tze Yong (MAS) in the Badminton MS Gold Medal bout at the #CommonwealthGames2022🥇#Cheer4India pic.twitter.com/FdSw6dWXrG
— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) August 8, 2022
In the close encounter, Sen had exceptional rallies, powerful down-the-court and cross-court smashes. Both players showcased brilliant play at the net.
However, Yong, who reached the finals after defeating Srikanth Kidambi in the semis, looked comparatively exhausted in the last game.
Sen, the world number 10, then sealed the game and maintained his record of three wins in three matches against Yong.
Before departing for the CWG, Satwiksairaj Reddy and Chirag Shetty had told the reporters that their goal was to change the colour of the 2018 Gold Coast from silver to gold in Birmingham.
The men’s doubles duo accomplished its mission on Monday.
The Hyderabad-based pair was playing against England’s Lane Ben and Vendy Sean in their second CWG.
The world number eight duo outclassed their English counterparts in all sections and won the match comfortably with 21-15, 21-13 in straight sets.
HISTORY CREATED- DYNAMIC DUO ON A ROLL🔥
🥇 @satwiksairaj / @Shettychirag04 are VICTORIOUS over their English opponents with a score of 0-2 at the #CommonwealthGames2022🥇
This is the 1️⃣st ever Indian Men's Doubles Badminton 🥇 Medal in the #CWG🤩
Brilliant Feat! #Cheer4India pic.twitter.com/xR9Cr9bx5x
— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) August 8, 2022
With this win, they became the first Indian pair to claim the elusive gold in the men’s doubles category at the CWG.
Meanwhile, the pair’s last historic performance was in the 2022 Thomas Cup, where they brought India back into the contest after initial setbacks against Malaysia and Denmark in the quarterfinals and semifinals.
In the 2018 Gold Coast Games, India won a total of two golds, three silver, and one bronze whereas this time Team Blue clinched three golds, one silver, and a bronze.
Former world number one Kidambi lifted the bronze on 7 August after defeating Singapore’s Jason Teh with a 2-0 win to record his second medal of the Games.
The women’s doubles duo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand on 7 August registered a 2-0 win over Australia’s Wendy Hsuan-Yu Chen and Gronya Somerville 21-15, 21-18.
Earlier, defending champion India went down against Malaysia on 2 August in the mixed team event and had to be satisfied with a silver.
A huge round of applause for our 🥉medal winners at #CommonwealthGames2022.
Proud of you champs! 👏👏@himantabiswa | @sanjay091968 #IndiaPhirKaregaSmash#CWG2022 #Badminton#CommonwealthGamesIndia pic.twitter.com/ZkLT2Io7xS
— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) August 8, 2022
