With 11 gold, four silver, and six bronze medals at the 21st Commonwealth Games, India held on to their third spot in the overall tally behind hosts Australia and England
Pistol shooter Heena Sidhu shone the brightest with a gold and a Games record, while para-powerlifter Sachin Chaudhary put behind a dope-tainted past to claim a surprise bronze as the Indian juggernaut slowed down a bit after five days of gold rush at the Commonwealth Games. With weightlifters through with their campaign, wrestlers yet to take off and boxers only getting into medal rounds, the number of medals were not too many to show on Day Six of the games.
However, India held on to their third spot in the overall tally, behind hosts Australia and England. The Indian contingent has so far collected 11 gold, four silver, and six bronze medals.
The ranges at Belmont Shooting Centre in Brisbane were expecting to boom with strong Indian performances but it wasn't a particularly great start as Gagan Narang and Chain Singh finished outside the medal bracket in the 50m rifle prone event. However, Sidhu made up for it to an extent by shooting down the gold as well as the games record in the women's 25m pistol event.
At the Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre, Chaudhary gave India their only other medal of the day in para powerlifting with an effort of 181kg in the men's heavyweight final. The medal was a redemption of sorts for Chaudhary, who was banned for two years after failing a dope test in 2014. He had tested positive for the anabolic steroid methandienone and testosterone abuse in June that year. Without dwelling on his past, the lifter merely said he expects the medal to change things for good for him. "In India, the Commonwealth Games is regarded as one of the most prestigious sporting events. This is a life-changing moment for me," he said.
It was a brilliant day for the boxers at the Oxenford Studios, where all five in action assured themselves of medals by advancing to the semi-finals. Among them was veteran Manoj Kumar (69kg), a gold-medallist from the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Joining him were a bunch of debutants -- Amit Panghal (49kg), Mohammed Hussamuddin (56kg), the 19-year-old Naman Tanwar (91kg), and former Asian Games bronze-medallist Satish Kumar (+91kg).
Top 10 developments of commonwealthgames 2018
1) India at third spot at CWG 18: India are now standing at the third spot at the 21st Commonwealth Games with 21 medals, including 11 gold, four silver, and six bronze medals.
2) Heena Sidhu adds third gold to India's shooting kitty at CWG 18: Heena Sidhu picked up India's third gold medal in shooting at the ongoing Commonwealth Games, finishing on top in the women's 25m pistol event and also breaking a Games record in the process today. The 28-year-old Sidhu shot a final score of 38, two of the series being perfect fives, to claim the top honours ahead of Australian Elena Galiabovitch (35). The bronze medal went to Malaysia's Alia Azahari (26).
This was Sidhu's second medal at the ongoing Games after having claimed a silver in the 10m air pistol event behind 16-year-old compatriot Manu Bhaker. Incidentally, this is her first major medal in the 25m pistol event with most of her other podium finishes being in 10m air pistol. "I am exhausted, those are my thoughts on today's performance," Sidhu quipped while speaking to news agency PTI after her gold.
Sidhu was in terrific form after qualifying third with a score of 579 despite admitting to struggling with her trigger finger owing to a nerve problem. "Thankfully, my trigger which has been giving me some trouble because of a tingling sensation was alright today. I didn't feel that tingling too much," Sidhu said. "The 10m air pistol final is a blur to me, I couldn't feel my fingers during that. I have been undergoing physiotherapy for this problem but for today, I told my physio not to touch me. I just let it be and to my relief it went off well," she said.
Annuraj Singh finished sixth after being eliminated in the second stage of the same event. Her final score was 15.
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