CWG 2018, Day 8, Highlights: Wrestlers Sushil Kumar, Rahul Aware Win Golds, Tejaswini Sawant Bags Silver In Women's 50m Rifle Prone

Double Olympic-medallist Sushil Kumar (74kg) and Rahul Aware claimed contrasting gold medals even as defending champion Babita phogat (53kg) settled for a silver on the opening day of the 21st Commonwealth Games' wrestling competition. Sushil took a minute and 20 seconds to defeat Johannes Botha of South Africa on technical superiority to claim his third successive gold medal at the Games. Aware, on the other hand, prevailed 15-7 over Canada's Steven Takahashi in an exciting contest during which the Indian was troubled by a groin niggle but chose to carry on with more than a minute left on the clock. Aware's triumph opened India's gold medal account in the three-day wrestling competition at the Games.

However, Babita settled for silver after being outmanuevered by Canada's Diana Weicker in the summit clash. Babita, who claimed a silver in the 2010 edition before a gold in Glasgow, failed to break through her rival's defences, going down 2-5 in the contest.

The seasoned Tejaswini Sawant brought her years of experience into play en route to claiming the silver medal in the women's 50m rifle prone event. Tejaswini shot 102.1, 102.4, 103.3, 102.8, 103.7, 104.6 for a cumulative score of 618.9 over six series to claim her six CWG medal.

Young Anjum Moudgil, the other Indian shooter in the fray, finished a lowly 16th with 602.2.

 India's women's hockey team lost 0-1 to defending champions Australia in a 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 penalty shootout in the other semi-final.

India will play England in the bronze-medal playoff on Saturday at the Gold Coast Hockey Centre.

Continuing her red-hot form, India's Manika Batra advanced to the semi-finals in the women's singles Table Tennis event. World No. 58 Manika ousted lower-ranked Yihan Zhou of Singapore 4-1 (11-5,11-6,11-2,6-11,11-9) with ease in the quarter-final.

The 22-year-old will now face Tianwei Feng in the semis on Saturday.

Earlier on Thursday, Manika thrashed local girl Tracy Feng 4-1 (11-6, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9, 11-7) to reach the last eight of the competition.

Seema Punia and Navjeet Dhillon clinched the silver and bronze medal respectively in the women's discuss throw. In the 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. 

Her compatriot Navjeet managed to throw her best 57.43m in her sixth attempt to sit at the third place.

Australia's Dani Stevens set a new Games record with a Herculean throw of 68.26m to clinch gold.

After throwing 60.41m in the medal clinching attempt, the second attempt saw Seema Punia throwing 59.57. But in the third attempt, Seema fouled and in the fourth she only managed to throw 58.54, managing to stay in the top three.

Her fifth attempt was disqualified.

Navjeet, on the other hand, was out of top three from the start, clearing 55.61 in first attempt and 56.22, 54.09 in the fourth and fifth attempt respectively. She was behind Sositina Hakeai of New Zealand till then but the final attempt saw her throwing her best 57.43m which helped him to move at the third place, replacing the New Zealander. Hakeai (57.16m) best throw came in his third attempt.

(Medals Tally)

Highlights of 2018 Commonwealth Games, Day 8, straight from Gold Coast, Australia

18:15 IST: It was good outing for the Indian contingent on Day 8 of the Games as they won a total of seven medals and remain at the third spot with a total tally of 31 medals. Sushil Kumar was a star on display for India as he claimed his third straight CWG gold. Rahul Aware also came to the party with a gold of his own as the Indian kitty saw the addition of a silver from Babita Kumari and a bronze medal from Rinku on the women's side. With more events lined up on Day 9, India would be all geared up for more success.

18:10 IST: India lose 0-1 to Australia in the women's Hockey semi-final match. The Indian team will face England in the bronze medal match.

FT| Despite a close-fought encounter, the Indian Eves sustain a 0-1 defeat against the @Hockeyroos in the Semi-Final of the @GC2018 Commonwealth Games. The team will now play its 3/4th place play-off against England on 14th March. pic.twitter.com/fWZCWUcgHo

— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) April 12, 2018

17:50 IST: At the end of the third quarter, India trail Australia 1-0 in the women's hockey semi-final tie.

17:40 IST: Women's hockey semi-final tie -- Australia take 1-0 lead in the 37th minute of the game.

17:30 IST: The third quarter of the women's hockey semi-final match between India and Australia starts.

17:24 IST: Women's Hockey Semi-Final tie -- Both India and Australia remain goalless after the first two quarters.

17:14 IST: India is currently tied at 0-0 with Australia in the Women's semi-final hockey match.

17:12 IST: In Table Tennis -- India's Mouma Das loses to Mengyu Yu of Singapore in the Women's Singles Quarterfinal.

17:10 IST: India's Seema Punia and Navjeet Kaur Dhillon win silver and bronze medals respectively in the Women's Discus Throw final.

17:05 IST: Seema Punia scores 58.90 in her sixth attempt. She is still in the second place.

16:58 IST: DISCUS THROW -- Seema Punia fails in her fifth attempt but remains in the second position. 

16:55 IST: Table Tennis -- Mouma Das pulls one back. She now trails 1-3 in the women's Singles Quarterfinal.

16:51 IST: DISCUS THROW -- Seema Punia scores 58.54 in her fourth attempt in Discuss Throw women's finals.

16:44 IST: TABLE TENNIS -- Mouma Das is currently trailing 2-0 against Mengyu Yu of Singapore in the Women's Singles Quarterfinal

16:35 IST: India's Nellickal V Neena (6.19), Nayana James (6.14) finishes 10th and 12th respectively in the Women's Long Jump Final event.

16:32 IST: DISCUS -- After two attempts, India's Seema Punia is in silver medal position.

16:20 IST: India's Seema Punia and Navjeet Dhillon are in action in the Women's discus throw final.

16:10 IST: Table Tennis -- India's Manika Batra advances to the semi-finals of the Women's singles table tennis event after beating Yihan Zhou of Singapore 11-5, 11-6, 11-2, 6-11, 11-9. While in Men's Doubles Round of 16 SQUASH, Vikram Malhotra and Ramit Tandon are up against Chris Binnie and Lewis Walters of Jamaica.

15:15 IST: BADMINTON: Saina Nehwal advances to the quarterfinals after her opponent Jessica Li of Isle of Man retired in second game

14:03 IST: WRESTLING: India's Sushil Kumar wins 74kg Freestyle wrestling gold. This is India's 14th gold medal at the Games

14:00 IST: WRESTLING: India's Sushil Kumar is in action against South Africa's Johannes Botha in men's Freestyle 74kg gold medal match

13:35 IST: WRESTLING: Kiran wins bronze medal in women's Freestyle 76kg wrestling

13:17 IST: WRESTLING: India's Rahul Aware wins gold in men's Freestyle 57kg wrestling

13:02 IST: WRESTLING: India's Rahul Aware is in action against Canada's Steven Takahashi in men's Freestyle 57kg Gold medal match

12:45 IST: WRESTLING: Babita Kumari loses to Canada's Diana Weicker in Women's 53kg Freestyle Nordic event, finishes with silver

12:37 IST: WRESTLING: Indian wrestler Babita Kumari is in action against Canada's Diana Weicker in Women's 53kg Nordic Gold medal match

10:23 IST: SHOOTING: Tejaswini Sawant wins silver in women's 50m Rifle Prone Finals

10:13 IST: SHOOTING: Tejaswini Sawant in 2nd position, Anjum Moudgil 18th in Women's 50m Rifle Prone Finals

09:55 IST: BADMINTON: Kidambi Srikanth beats Sri Lanka's Niluka Karunaratne 21-10, 21-10 to enter Men's Singles quarter-finals

09:53 IST: BADMINTON: PV Sindhu beats Australia's Hsuan-Yu Wendy Chen 21-15, 21-9 to enter Women's Singles quarter-final

. @Pvsindhu1 beats Hsuan-Yu Wendy CHEN from @BadmintonAus 2o reach the Quarter Final of the #GC2018 #IndiaontheRise #GC2018 #GC2018badminton #CWG2018 pic.twitter.com/q9Qge3WfiI

— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) April 12, 2018

09:41 IST: SHOOTING: After Series 1, Tejaswini Sawant is at number 10 and Anjum Moudgil at 14 in Women's 50m Rifle Prone Finals

09:38 IST: SHOOTING: The Women's 50m Rifle Prone Finals featuring India's Anjum Moudgil and Tejaswini Sawant is underway

09:34 IST: BADMINTON: PV Sindhu wins first game 21-15 against Australia's Hsuan-Yu Wendy Chen in Women's Singles Round of 16 match

I have reached the finals by beating Connor Evans of Australia by 4-0. All set to bring the gold for my Nation in #CWG2018 #JaiHind

— Sushil Kumar (@WrestlerSushil) April 12, 2018

09:22 IST: BADMINTON: India's PV Sindhu is in action against Australia's Hsuan-Yu Wendy Chen Women's Singles Round of 16 match

09:21 IST: BADMINTON: India's Kidambi Srikanth is in action against Sri Lanka's Niluka Karunaratne in Men's Singles Round of 16 match

09:18 IST: BADMINTON: HS Prannoy beats Australia's Anthony Joe 21-18, 21-11 in Men's Singles Round of 16 match

08:57 IST: TABLE TENNIS: Madhurika Patkar crashes out of women's singles event after 4-2 defeat to England's Kelly Sibley

08:55 IST: TABLE TENNIS: Manika Batra in quarters after 4-1 win against Australia's Tracy Feng

08:50 IST: BADMINTON: India's HS Prannoy is in action against Australia's Anthony Joe in Men's Singles Round of 16 match

08:18 IST: TABLE TENNIS: India's Sanil Shetty and Madurika Patkar also enter mixed doubles quarterfinal beating Rhikesh Taucoory and Elodie Ho Wan Kau of Mauritius 11-4, 11-5, 11-6

08:16 IST: SHOOTING: The Women's 50m Rifle Prone Finals featuring India's Anjum Moudgil and Tejaswini Sawant is at 9:30 AM (IST)

08:02 IST: WRESTLING: GOLD MEDAL MATCHES:

Babita Kumari vs Diana Weicker (53kg)

Rahul Aware vs Steven Takahasi (57kg)

Sushil Kumar vs Johannes Botha (74kg)

BRONZE MEDAL MATCH:

Kiran vs Katouskia Pariadhaven (76kg)

07:55 IST: BADMINTON: N Sikki Reddy and Pranaav Chopra win their Round of 16 mixed-doubles match 21-19, 21-13 to enter the quarterfinals

07:50 IST: WRESTLING: Sushil Kumar to face South Africa's Johannes Botha in Men's Freestyle 74 kg final

07:41 IST: WRESTLING: Rahul Aware beats Pakistan's Muhammad Bilal to enter Men's Freestyle 57kg Final

07:38 IST: WRESTLING: Sushil Kumar enters Men's Freestyle 74 kg final after beating Australia's Connon Evans

07:33 IST: WRESTLING: Sushil Kumar in action against Australia's Connon Evans in Men's Freestyle 74 kg semi-finals

07:31 IST: WRESTLING: Rahul Aware is in action against Pakistan's Muhammad Bilal in Men's Freestyle 57 kg semi-finals

07:30 IST: WRESTLING: Sushil Kumar will face Australia's Connon Evans in Men's Freestyle 74 kg semi-finals

07:28 IST: WRESTLING: Rahul Aware will face Pakistan's Muhammad Bilal in Men's Freestyle 57 kg semi-finals

07:22 IST: WRESTLING: Sushil Kumar beats Pakistan's Muhammad Asad Butt to enter the Men's Freestyle 74 kg semi-finals

07:18 IST: WRESTLING: India's Rahul Aware beats Australia's Thomas Cicchini in Men's Freestyle 57 kg 1/4 Final

07:05 IST: WRESTLING: India's Rahul Aware is in action against Australia's Thomas Cicchini in Men's Freestyle 57 kg 1/4 Final

07:02 IST: TABLE TENNIS: Sharath Kamal/Mouma Das enter quarter-finals of Mixed Doubles beating England's David McBeth/Kelly Sibley 11-5, 11-9, 11-9

07:01 IST: WRESTLING: Men's Freestyle 74 kg- Sushil Kumar moves to quarter-finals beating Canada's Jevon Balfour. He will face Pakistan's Muhammad Asad Butt for a place in the semis

07:00 IST: SHOOTING: 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men's Qualification - Good start by Neeraj Kumar and Anish Bhanwala - both are placed 1st and 3rd respectively after Stage 1

Wrestling:

Babita Kumari vs Bose Samuel (Nigeria): Women's Freestyle 53kg Nordic;

Rahul Aware vs George Ramm (England): Men's Freestyle 58kg Quarter-finals;

Sushil Kumar vs Jevon Balfour (Canada): Men's Freestyle 78kg Quarter-final;

Babita Kumari vs Deepika Dilhani (Sri Lanka): Women's Freestyle 53kg Nordic;

Sushil Kumar vs Mohammad Asad Butt (Pakistan): Men's Freestyle 74kg Semi-final;

Rahul Aware vs Muhammad Bilal (Pakistan): Men's Freestyle 57kg Semi-final;

Babita Kumari vs Carissa Holland (Australia): Women's Freestyle 53kg Nordic;

Kiran vs Blessing Onyebuchi (Nigeria): Women's Freestyle 76kg Semi-final;

Sushil Kumar vs Connor Evans (Australia): Men's Freestyle 74kg Semi-final;

Babita Kumari vs Diana Weicker (Canada): Women's Freestyle 53kg Nordic FINAL;

Men's Freestyle 57kg Bronze;

Men's Freestyle 57kg FINAL;

Women's Freestyle 76kg Bronze;

Women's Freestyle 76kg FINAL;

Men's Freestyle 74kg Bronze;

Men's Freestyle 74kg FINAL

On the badminton court, the stars of the mixed team's gold medal winning campaign began their singles run and with easy opponents in opening rounds and the likes of P V Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and K Srikanth hardly took less than 20 minutes each to move into the pre-quarters. Most of the table tennis and squash players made their way into pre-quarters of their respective individual and doubles events. In squash, the spotlight is on defending gold medallists Joshna Chinnappa and Dipika Pallikal, who won their opening match. There was disappointment in the athletics arena where high jump hope Tejaswin Shankar ended up sixth after fouling all his attempts at 2.27m even though his personal best stands at 2.28m. It's the first time I am experiencing something like this. I still have a lot of big competitions coming up this year. The biggest positive is that I could hold my nerve against these big competitors. I realised they are people like me, they are not gods, Shankar said. Also finishing sixth was Hima Das, but in the 400m women's race. She could, however, take solace from the fact that she achieved a personal best of 51.32 sec.