Commonwealth Games Glasgow 2014: Day Two
India started off their campaign at the Commonwealth Games 2014 in style, bagging seven medals on day one. It was a relatively quieter second day as they managed to add only a gold, silver and bronze to their tally.
Indian Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra yet gain scripted history by winning his first Commonwealth gold in the final of the men’s 10m air pistol competition. It was a memorable finish for the ace sportsman who before the start of the tournament had announced that this would be last appearance at the Commonwealth Games. Bindra, who has already won nine medals at previously held editions, was cool and composed and used every bit of his experience to grab the first position. India’s first Olympic individual gold medalist, not only won gold but also shot an aggregate of 205.3 setting a ‘Games Record’.
“It was a well-earned medal because I work hard and I am happy to have achieved the feat. I got the desired result,” Bindra stated while addressing the media after his win.
However, another Indian shooter, Ravi Kumar missed out on a bronze medal to England’s Dan Rivers in the final round. The surprise of the day was sixteen year old wonder girl from Punjab, Mallika Goel winning silver in the women 10m rifle contest. Her performance was lauded by all and sundry.
Apart from these two medals in the shooting categories, India also won a bronze in the weightlifting competition on day two of the XX edition of Commonwealth Games. Twenty year old Andhra girl, Santoshi Matsa was the third medal recipient of the day for India, finishing third in the 53 kg category.
Ranked ninth in the world, Indian men’s field hockey team had to put up a tough fight to register their first win in the tournament against Wales (3-1). VR Raghunath (20), Rupinder Pal Singh (42) and Girvinder Singh Chandi (47) were the three scores for the day. India’s next match is on Saturday against the hosts Scotland.
In swimming, twenty-five year old Sandeep Sejwal cleared the qualification round to reach the semi-finals of the men’s 100m breaststroke event. Delhi boy Sejwal clocked 1:02.97 seconds to rank 12th overall. Shockingly, Joshna Chinappa lost 1-3 to World No. 4 Joelle King of New Zealand in the round of 16 to crash out of the women’s singles competition. The Indian cyclists’ also continued with their poor run in the Games. Both the men’s (4000m) and women’s (3000m) team failed to qualify for their final events.
On the ranking list, India presently stands fourth behind England, Australia and Scotland with three gold, four silver and three bronze medals.
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