PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal to lead Indian challenge at Denmark Open badminton

Sindhu will take on USA’s Beiwen Zhang, Saina will be up against Cheung Ngan Yi of Hong Kong

Sports| Olympic medallists PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal will lead a strong Indian challenge at the Denmark Open badminton tournament which gets underway here on Tuesday.

While Sindhu has been seeded third in the event, world no.11 Saina is unseeded here.

Sindhu will take on USA’s Beiwen Zhang in the opening round of the women’s singles. Saina, on the other hand, will be up against Cheung Ngan Yi of Hong Kong.

In men’s singles competition, world no.6 Kidambi Srikanth will be India’s best bet and has been seeded seventh in the tournament..| BS

Srikanth will face Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus of Denmark in the opening round, while B Sai Praneeth will play Huang Yuxiang of China.

However, it will be a difficult opening encounter for another Indian, Sameer Verma, as he will square off against third seed Shi Yuqi of China.

The other Indian in fray, HS Prannoy also faces a tough first round match as he will be up against sixth seed Son Wan Ho of Korea.

| Business Standard |

India at CWG 2018: Heena Sidhu, Sachin Chaudhary, boxers lift medal tally

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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CWG 2018 Day 5 medal tally: Australia wins 39 gold, India 10; highlights

Gagan Narang and Chain Singh entered the final of the men's 50m Rifle Prone event. India enters the semifinals in the men's hockey

India's gold rush at the 21st Commonwealth Games continues. India scripted history by bagging the maiden Commonwealth Games gold medal in mixed badminton event. Indian shuttlers thrashed three-time defending champions Malaysia on Monday.

Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal defeated Malaysian Soniia Cheah by 21-11 19-21 21-9, securing the gold 

for India in the mixed team event.

"It is a medal that I will forever cherish, it is very special. Team gold is always way more cherishable," said the London Olympics bronze-medallist.

Earlier, India had won the silver and bronze respectively in mixed team badminton event in the 2010 and 2006 editions of the Commonwealth Games.

India enters the semifinals in the men's hockey by beating Malaysia in a Pool B match. All eyes are on Indian shooters. Annu Raj Singh and Heena Sindhu reached the final of women’s 25m pistol event.

Earlier, India shined in men's table tennis event at the Commonwealth Games as it outclassed Nigeria by 3-0 to win the historic gold in men's table tennis.

Indian players continued their dominance in the final and thrashed Nigeria in all the first three matches to clinch a gold medal.

This the second gold medal for India in table tennis after the women's team claimed gold medal by defeating Singapore on Sunday.

Ace shooter Jitu Rai won his second gold medal at the Commonwealth Games by creating a record of 235 on Day 5.1 in the men's 10m Air Pistol final.

Om Mitharwal bagged bronze for India with 214.3 in the final.

Indian women shooters made India proud as Mehuli Ghosh and Apurvi Chandela bagged silver and bronze respectively in the women's 10m Air Rifle event.

1. Gagan Narang and Chain Singh enter final: 

All eyes on Indian shooters as Gagan Narang and Chain Singh entered the final of the men's 50m Rifle Prone event. Gagan finished the qualifying round in the third position with 617 points. Chain was in sixth place, having scored a total of 614.2. Gagan was consistent throughout the qualification round, starting off with 102.5 before shooting a superb 104.8 in his second attempt. He bolstered his position with 102.3, 103.2 and 103.4 in his next three attempts. However, a poor 100.8 in his final attempt ended his chances of finishing among the top two.

2. India reach semifinals in men's Hockey

India defeated Malaysia by 2-1 in a Pool B match of the men's hockey tournament at the 21st Commonwealth Games. Harmanpreet Singh (3rd, 43rd minutes) converted a couple of penalty corner while the experienced Faizal Saari reduced the deficit for Malaysia. India entered semifinals in men's hockey.

3. Women shooters qualified for final:

Annu Raj Singh and Heena Sindhu reached the final round of women’s 25m pistol event. The 34-year-old shooter from Aligarh, Annu Raj Singh scored 239 in the precision series. Heena Sidhu scored 293 in the rapid-fire series, securing a place in the final.

4. India wins historic gold in the mixed badminton event

India won the historic gold medal in the mixed badminton event at the Commonwealth Games 2010. The World no. 2 Kidambi Srikanth started the final against Malaysia with a comfortable victory. He outclassed three-time Olympic silver medallist Lee 21-17 21-14 in straight games.

Satwik Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa increased the lead by defeating Peng Soon Chan and Liu Yong Goh by 21-14 15-21 21-15.

Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost narrowly to Goh and Wee Kiong Tan 15-21 20-22 in men's doubles, keeping Malaysia afloat for a while. Saina Nehwal did not disappoint. She bagged the gold against Soniia Cheah by 21-11 19-21 21-9.

"It was exhausting, I actually lost focus during the match but thankfully managed to hold it together and ensure that the gold medal winning shot was mine," said ace badminton player.

Indian weightlifters finished with five gold, two silver and two bronze medals, topping the charts in the sport.

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