2014 Commonwealth Games Day 9 Highlights: Boxers Assure Five More Medals After India Clinch Silver in Discus, Table Tennis
With three days remaining in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, India will look for a golden home run from boxers, track and field athletes and of course, racquet sports. Men's hockey should fetch a medal too. Catch all the live updates from Day 9 on Friday.
It's Day 9 of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Who will be India's Man Friday? (SCHEDULE/RESULTS) India start at No. 5 position in the medal standings with a total haul of 47 medals (13 gold, 20 silver and 14 bronze). Like 2010 Games in Delhi, can India touch the 100-mark? Catch all the updates here:
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07.10 (IST): Table tennis: Achanta Sharath Kamal and Anthony Amalraj picked up the silver medal in the men's doubles table tennis after they lost 1-3 to Singapore's Hu Li and Ning Gao in the title clash
07.05 (IST): Squash: India's star squash players Dipika Pallikal and Joshana Chinappa lived up to their names and potential to enter the women's doubles final.
00.23 (IST): Quick recap of the day: Two Indian boxers - Devendro and Sarita - guarantee a silver at the very least. Seema Punia gets silver in discus. In TT, Sharath Kamal reaches singles semi.
00.18 (IST): Boxing: Devendro completely outclasses his Welsh opponent to reach men's light fly (49kg) final. India assured of another silver at least from the boxing ring.ÂÂ
00.15 (IST): Badminton update: RMV Gurusaidutt beats Malaysia's Wei Feng Chong 21-15 8-21 21-17 to reach men's badminton semi .
00.12 (IST): Lasihram continues with his punches into the second round. One of them catches Williams off guard and he falls down only to get up a lot more shaken than before.
00.10 (IST): Laishram appears too quick for Williams. Excellent defense and superb counter punches from him in the first round.
00.07 (IST): Boxing: Devendro Laishram takes on Wales' Ashley Williams in the semis. A win would ensure a silver at least for India.
00:01 (IST): India's Seema Punia wins silver with a season best of 61.61m in the Women's Discus Throw event. (Full report here)
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23:58 (IST): Seema Punia is finished with her 6 throws with a best of 61.61m. At 2nd, she is out of gold contention.
23:53 (IST): Women's Discus Throw: Krishna Poonia manages only 55.58m in her 6th and final throw, hopes of medal gone. She is at fifth currently with a best of 57.84 metres today.
23:46 (IST): Seema Punia throws 61.61m (season best) now in Women's Discus Throw final. She jumps to second again.
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22:33 (IST): Boxing: Sarita Devi beats Maria Machongua of Mozambique to reach final in Women's Lightweight category. India are now assured of at least a silver medal. (Read report here)
22:27 (IST): India's 4X400m women's relay team finishes fifth in Heat 2, India qualify for final as 2nd fastest losers.
22:26 (IST): Women's Discus Throw Final: Krishna Poonia does better with a 57.84m throw, at fifth position now.
23:23 (IST): India's 4X400m women's relay team will be in action in Heat 2 now at Hampden Park Stadium.
23:19 (IST): Boxing: India's Sarita Devi in action in her Women's Lightweight (57-60kg) semifinal bout now.
23:12 (IST): Krishna Poonia a dismal 9th in Women's Discus throw final after getting 52.79m. Seema Punia third.
23:08 (IST): Seema Punia throws 58.87m in her 2nd attempt in Women's Discus Throw final. She is currently second in the standings.
23:02 (IST): India's Sahana Nagaraj Gobbargumpi is tied for 7th in Women's High Jump final after clearing 1.86 metres.
23:00 (IST): Women's Discus Throw Final: Seema Punia once had a 2000 World Junior bronze medal confiscated due to a doping offence. She is fourth in the standings as of now.
22:57 (IST): Seema Punia throws 53.64m in her first attempt in Women's Discus Throw final. The Sonepat girl did well in the qualifiers.
22:49 (IST): Krishna Poonia & Seema Punia will now be in action in Women's Discus Throw final.
22:46 (IST): Sahana Nagaraj Gobbargumpi clears 1.82m too in the Women's High Jump final, tied for 1st.
22:40 (IST): Squash: Ghosal/Pallikal (India) lose 11-6, 11-9 to Palmer/Grinham (AUS) in mixed doubles quarterfinals.
22:39 (IST): Sahana Nagaraj Gobbargumpi clears 1.78m in first attempt in the Women's High Jump final.
22:31 (IST): India's Krishna Poonia & Seema Punia will also be in action in the Women's Discus Throw final at around 10:50 pm.
22:27 (IST): India's Sahana Nagaraj Gobbargumpi will be in action in the Women's High Jump final in a few minutes.
22:20 (IST): Squash: Ghosal/Pallikal (India) lose 1st game 11-6 to Palmer/Grinham (AUS) in mixed doubles quarters.
22:09 (IST): Squash: India's Saurav Ghosal and Dipika Pallikal in action now in mixed doubles quarters. They are taking on David Palmer and Rachael Grinham of Australia.
22:06 (IST): Table Tennis: Sharath Kamal beats Paul Drinkhall 11-7, 11-6, 12-10, 9-11, 11-6 to reach men's singles semifinals.
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22:02 (IST): In other international news, the England women's hockey team will take on Australia in the final after beating New Zealand 3-1 in a penalty shootout.
21:58 (IST): Table Tennis: Sharath Kamal loses 4th game 11-9 vs Paul Drinkhall in men's singles quarters, leads 3-1.
21:47 (IST): Table Tennis: Sharath Kamal wins 3rd game 12-10 vs Paul Drinkhall in men's singles quarters, leads 3-0. (11-7, 11-6, 12-10). Kamal needs to win one more game to reach semis.
21:37 (IST):Table Tennis: Sharath Kamal wins 2nd game 11-6 vs Paul Drinkhall in men's singles quarters, leads 2-0 in the best-of-seven. (11-7, 11-6).
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21:35 (IST): In good news for India, lifters Santoshi Matsa and Swati Singh (53 kg) have been awarded silver & bronze after Nigeria's Chika Amalaha fails dope test.
21:28 (IST): Table Tennis: Achanta Sharath Kamal wins 1st game 11-7 vs Paul Drinkhall in men's singles quarterfinals.
21:21 (IST): Table Tennis: India's Achanta Sharath Kamal to take on Paul Drinkhall of England now in men's singles quarterfinals.
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21:16 (IST): Table Tennis: Soumyajit Ghosh loses 11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 7-11, 10-12, 9-11 to Liam Pitchford in men's singles quarters.
21:07 (IST): Table Tennis: Soumyajit Ghosh loses 5th game 12-10 vs Liam Pitchford in men's singles quarters, trails 3-2. (11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 7-11, 10-12).
21:03 (IST): Squash: Sandhu/Chinappa (India) lose 7-11, 11-8, 11-6 to Knight/King (NZ) in mixed doubles quarters.
20:59 (IST): Table Tennis: Soumyajit Ghosh loses 4th game 11-7 vs Liam Pitchford in men's singles quarters, 2 games all. (11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 7-11). It's a best-of-seven.
20:51 (IST): Table Tennis: Soumyajit Ghosh wins 3rd game 11-9 vs Liam Pitchford in men's singles quarters, leads 2-1. (11-7, 7-11, 11-9).
20:45 (IST): Table Tennis: Soumyajit Ghosh loses 2nd game 11-7 vs Liam Pitchford of England in men's singles quarters, 1 game all now. (11-7, 7-11).
20:43 (IST): Squash: Sandhu/Chinappa (India) lose 2nd game 11-8 vs Knight/King (NZ) in mixed doubles quarters, 1 game all now. (11-7, 8-11).
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20:40 (IST): Recap: Pinki Rani won boxing bronze today for India in the Women's Flyweight (48-51kg) category after losing to Michaella Walsh of Northern Ireland. Many said that the 2-0 points win given to Walsh by the judges was not justified.
20:36 (IST): Table Tennis: Soumyajit Ghosh wins 1st game 11-7 vs Liam Pitchford of England in men's singles quarters.
20:32 (IST): Table Tennis: India's Soumyajit Ghosh taking on Liam Pitchford of England in men's singles quarterfinals.
20:22 (IST): Squash: Sandhu/Chinappa (India) win 1st game 11-7 vs Knight/King (NZ) in mixed doubles quarterfinals.
20:10 (IST): Squash: Harinder Pal Sandhu and Joshana Chinappa's mixed doubles quarterfinal match has now started. They are taking on Martin Knight and Joelle King of New Zealand.
20:06 (IST): Veteran shooter Gagan Narang won a silver and bronze in Commonwealth Games 2014. He tells NDTV in an exclusive chat that while he is pleased with his performance, the overall shooting contingent has made him very proud.
20:04 (IST): Badminton: PV Sindhu will take on Michelle Li of Canada in women's singles semifinals tomorrow.
20:00 (IST): Badminton: India's Parupalli Kashyap will take on Rajiv Ouseph of England in men's singles semifinals tomorrow.
19:53 (IST): Read the inspiring story of Dipa Karmakar, India's first artistic woman gymnast to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games here. She had very little training and resources at her disposal in comparison to some other Indian athletes at the Games in Glasgow.
19:40 (IST): Squash: Harinder Pal Sandhu and Joshana Chinappa 's mixed doubles quarterfinal match has been delayed.
19:33 (IST): Lawn Bowls: Australia beat India 15-14 to win bronze medal. In the final, Scotland beat England to win gold.
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19:22 (IST): India's Achanta/Arputhraj will take on Gao/Li of Singapore in men's doubles table tennis final at 1:00 am IST.
19:15 (IST): Badminton: PV Sindhu crushes aside Anna Rankin (NZ) 21-10, 21-9 to reach women's singles semifinals.
19:12 (IST): Gymnastics: India's Ashish Kumar finishes last out of 8 gymnasts in Men's Vault final.
19:03 (IST): Badminton: PV Sindhu wins 1st game 21-10 vs Anna Rankin (NZ) in women's singles quarters.
18:58 (IST): Badminton: PV Sindhu is in action now in women's singles quarters vs Anna Rankin (NZ). Sindhu leads 11-4 in the first game.
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18:54 (IST): Gymnastics: Ashish Kumar fails to take advantage of good start, finishes on 7.166 points after 2 vaults. He landed on his hip in the second vault after getting 14.333 in the 1st.
18:44 (IST): Badminton: Parupalli Kashyap beats Daren Liew of Malaysia 21-13, 21-14 to reach men's singles semis.
18:28 (IST): Gymnastics: Ashish Kumar is now in action in the Men's Vault final. Ashish won silver in the last Commonwealth Games in Delhi in the same event.
18:21 (IST): Badminton: Parupalli Kashyap wins first game 21-13 vs Daren Liew of Malaysia in men's singles quarters.
18:10 (IST): Watch: Commonwealth Games medallists Anisa Sayyed and Lajja Gauswami tell NDTV that shooting may not be an easy sport but their hard-work helped them succeed in the international arena.
18:08 (IST): Badminton: India's Parupalli Kashyap is in action in men's singles quarters vs Daren Liew of Malaysia. He is leading 8-4 in the first game as of now.
18:04 (IST): Coming up, Gymnastics: India's Ashish Kumar will be in action in the Men's Vault final at 6:30 pm.
17:55 (IST): Patkar/Kumaresan (IND) lose 12-10, 12-10, 8-11, 11-2 to Drinkhall/Sibley in women's doubles TT quarters.
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17:47 (IST): Boxing: Pinki Rani wins bronze after losing to Michaela Walsh of Northern Ireland in Women's 48kg category. This is India's first boxing medal.
17:43 (IST): Boxing: Fourth and last round underway in Pinki Rani's semis (48kg) bout. The scores from judges are tied.
17:40 (IST): Boxing: This is turning out to be a great fight in women's 48kg semis. Pinki Rani still steady & fighting. The third round is currently underway.
17:35 (IST): Pinki Rani aggressive at the end of the first round in semis bout vs Michaela Walsh of Northern Ireland. 3 more rounds to go.
17:32 (IST): Pinki Rani's semifinal bout in Women's Flyweight (48kg) category about to begin.
17:31 (IST): Patkar/Kumaresan lose 2nd game 12-10 to Drinkhall/Sibley in women's doubles TT quarters, trail 2-0.
17:21 (IST): Patkar/Kumaresan lose first game 12-10 to Drinkhall/Sibley in women's doubles table tennis quarters.
17:19 (IST): Lawn Bowls: India's Men Fours bronze medal match vs Australia has started.
17:16 (IST): Madhurika Suhas Patkar and Shamini Kumaresan in action in women's doubles table tennis quarterfinals now, representing India. They are taking on Joanna Drinkhall and Kelly Sibley of England.
17:12 (IST): Coming up: Pinki Rani (IND) vs Michaela Waish (Northern Ireland) in Women's Flyweight (48kg) boxing semis at 5:30 pm.
17:09 (IST): India's Achanta/Arputhraj will take on Gao/Li of Singapore in men's doubles table tennis final today.
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16:58 (IST): India's Achanta/Arputhraj beat Yang/Zhan of Singapore 11-7, 12-10, 11-3 to proceed to men's doubles TT final.
16:48 (IST): Achanta/Arputhraj win 2nd game 12-10 vs Yang/Zhan of Singapore in men's doubles TT semis, lead 2-0. (11-7, 12-10). India closing in on the final spot. They still have to win one more game though in this best-of-five. That will assure them a silver medal at least.
16:37 (IST): Achanta/Arputhraj win first game 11-7 vs Yang/Zhan of Singapore in men's doubles table tennis semis.
16:31 (IST): Achanta Sharath Kamal & Arputharaj in action now in men's doubles table tennis semis, representing India. They are taking on Jian Zhan and Zi Yang of Singapore.
16:16 (IST): Table Tennis: Soumyajit Ghosh beats Hu Li of Singapore 11-5, 2-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9 to proceed to quarterfinals. In the other third round matches, Harmeet Desai of India has crashed out while Achanta Sharath Kamal is through to the quarters too.
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15:59 (IST): The hockey match comes to an end. India have beaten Scotland 2-1 to finish 5th in women's hockey.
15:44 (IST): Poonam Rani gives India the lead again in the 56th minute. India 2 Scotland 1.
15:43 (IST): Nikki Kidd draws Scotland level in the 54th minute.
15:41 (IST): Anupa Barla gives India a 1-0 lead vs Scotland in the 53rd minute of the women's hockey 5-6 classification match.
15:35 (IST): With 20 minutes left in the match neither India nor Scotland have been able to take the lead in the women's hockey 5-6 classification match.
15:25 (IST): Shamini and Patkar face Drinkhall & Sibley in the table tennis women's doubles quarters at 17:10 IST today.
15:18 (IST): It's 0-0 at half-time between India and Scotland in the women's hockey 5-6 classification match.
14:58 (IST): Mixed news in table tennis for India. Ankita Das & Poulomi Ghatak lose to Beh LW & Ng SK of Malaysia 7-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 4-11in the 3rd round of women's doubles while K Shamini & Madhurika Patkar beat Z Dederko & Z Zhang of Australia 3-2.
14:56 (IST): In what will be a big blow to the Indian hockey team, their captain Sardar Singh has been suspended for the semifinal match against New Zealand on Saturday following his yellow card for a dangerous slide tackle in a pool A match against South Africa.
14:50 (IST): After a quarter of the match has been played, India and Scotland are still locked at 0-0.
14:33 (IST): India take on Scotland for the 5-6 place playoff in women's hockey.
With the wrestlers and shooters having won majority of the medals so far, it's over to the boxers now. Five Indian pugilists are a win away from making the final rounds of their respective weight categories. The Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) Precinct will be the focus of attraction as the boxing ring will see a string of Indians in action.
Pinki Rani will be the first on show. She will take on Michaela Walsh of Northern Ireland in the 48-51 kg semis. If she wins, Pinki could run into Olympic champion Nicola Adams of Great Britain. Nicola had thrashed Mary Kom in the London Games two years ago. Pinki's fight is scheduled at 5:30 PM IST.
Closer to midnight (IST) and into the wee hours on Saturday, four Indian boxers will fight to enter the golden rounds. Laishram Saritha Devi, the 32-year-old mother from Thoubal, Manipur, will take on 21-year-old Maria Machongua of Mozambique in the semifinal of the 57-60 kg class while Devendro Singh (49 kg), Mandeep Jangra (69 kg) and veteran star Vijender Singh (75 kg) will look to enter the title rounds.
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A lot of Indians will be in action in track and field events. India's realistic hopes of winning a gold lie in women's discus. Vikas Gowda won the men's gold on Thursday and that should spur Krishna Poonia, who at 37 years, will perhaps be competing in her last Commonwealth Games. (My Biggest Achievement: Vikas Gowda)
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Krishna clinched the 2010 discus gold with a throw of 61.51m in Delhi. It was India's first gold after Milkha Singh's 440-yard race gold in the 1958 Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Wales. If Krishna can reproduce her personal best effort of 64.76 metres, the Hissar-born will surely figure among the medals in Glasgow.
Krishna's presence overshadows another Punia. Seema Punia will also be among the dozen discus finalists. The 31-year-old Sonepat girl has done reasonably well in the qualifiers and the final moments may just bring the best out of Seema, who once had a 2000 world junior bronze medal confiscated in Santiago, Chile due to a doping offence.
But first up in a final event will be high jumper Sahana Kumari. The 33-year-old Karnataka athlete has a personal best of 1.89 and needs to do as much or better to win a medal in Glasgow. She wasn't very convincing in the qualifiers although she made the final cut of 12 jumpers.
India's medal hopes also revolve around racquet sports. Badminton and table tennis should fetch medals as the teams have the right mix of youth and experience. A clutch of shuttlers will figure in the quarterfinal rounds in both singles and doubles.
England (123 medals with 44 gold), Australia (133 with 36 gold), Canada (65 with 27 gold) and Scotland (43 with 14 gold medals) occupy the first four positions in the standings so far. At this stage, India can look to finish No. 4 at best.