Commonwealth Games 2018, Day 4, As it happened: Indian women’s table tennis team wins historic gold

As we wrap up on what has been a momentous day for team India, a reminder that the women’s table tennis team won the gold medal, denying a Singapore women’s team, which had never lost a CWG final.

Punam Yadav pulled off a great victory in the 69-kg category while Manu Bhaker was the star of the shooting contingent on day four, the 16-year-old dominating the competition en route to a 1-2 with Heena Sidhu in the 10 metre Air Pistol final.

Ravi Kumar won a bronze in the 10 metre Air rifle, while Vikas Thakur won weightlifting’s eighth medal, a bronze in the men’s 94-kg. Do tune in tomorrow for more CWG action!

6.30 pm: Sajan Prakash ends fifth in the men’s 100 metre butterfly semi-final. In a tough field, filled with the likes of South African Games record holder Chad Le Clos, 24-year-old Sajan did well to finish fifth but will not make it to the final.

The Indian men’s basketball team go down 81-96 against Scotland. In the game till half-time, India were blown away in the third quarter, being outscored 29-11. Aravind Annadurai and Amjyot Gill with 27 and 26 points respectively but not enough to prevent India from slipping to a third successive group stage defeat and crashing out of the competition.

6 pm: This is how the medals table looks right now. India going strong and on course for a top-four finish! Still a long way to go, though.

5.32 pm: What scenes! Totally unexpected gold, maybe for outsiders, but this Indian women’s team believed! Beating Singapore in not one, not two, but three games. Wow!

5.28 pm: And she’s done it! The absolutely incredible Manika Batra has secured India their first women’s team gold in table tennis at the Commonwealth Games by playing a huge hand in beating Singapore, who won the last four titles! Batra was flawless in both her singles matches!

5.15 pm: The superb Manika Batra is just one game win away from taking India to the gold in the table tennis women’s team event over defending champions Singapore! This will be a huge win if she manages it. She’s won the first two games against Yihan Zhou 11-7, 11-4. Come on!

4.56 pm: UPSET ALERT!!

India are en route to a big upset in the final of the table tennis women’s team event after Madhurika Patkar and Mouma Das win the doubles match in four games to give their side a 2-1 lead in the tie. One more win and they have the gold! It will be Manika Batra who can take India to that gold as she faces Yihan Zhou next.

4.45 pm: Indian swimmer Sajan Prakash fails to qualify for the final of the men’s 100m Butterfly by a whisker after finishing 5th in his semi-final with a timing of 54.12. The top eight across two semi-finals progress to the final and Sajan missed out by 0.29 seconds! Unlucky!

4.41 pm: IND 4-3 WAL – Full Time

A late, late winner by SV Sunil ensures India scrape through against Wales in their second Pool match. Check out how the match progressed here.

4.30 pm: Seema finishes 6th in the women’s 75 kg weightlifting final. Her total lifted weight of 189 kg was 18 kg off the bronze medal spot.

4.15 pm: It’s 1-1 in the table tennis women’s team final between India and Singapore as Madhurika Patkar is defeated in straight games by Mengyu Yu.

4.12 pm: IND 2-2 WAL

It’s all-square at the end of the third quarter in the men’s hockey match between India and Wales. Will we see a winner? Follow live updates in our other live blog here.

4.05 pm: Madhurika Patkar is edged by Mengyu Yu in the first game of their table tennis women’s team match but gets mercilessly routed in the next one.

3.49 pm: Manika Batra gives India a 1-0 lead in the table tennis women’s team final against Singapore after beating T Feng in five games! Next up, Madhurika Patkar versus Mengyu Yu.

3.46 pm: IND 2-1 WAL

India retake the lead late in the second quarter against Wales. SV Sunil conjures up a penalty corner for India and Mandeep converts on the rebound. There is a lengthy video referral but the goal stands. Follow live updates in our other live blog here.

3.44 pm: Seema’s campaign in the women’s 75 kg weightlifting final ends with a combined total of 189 kg. But for a series of failures among the top guns, that’s surely not going to be enough to get a medal for Seema.

3.36 pm: It’s now two games-all in the table tennis women’s team final’s first singles match between Manika Batra and T Feng. It’s been a see-saw match so far and there’s no telling which way it will go!

3.28 pm: IND 1-1 WAL

India scored the opening goal in the men’s hockey match against Wales via the young Dilpreet Singh in the second quarter but their lead did not last long. Follow live updates in our other live blog here.

3.14 pm: It’s one game-all in the table tennis women’s team final’s first singles match between Manika Batra and T Feng: 11-8, 8-11.

3.10 pm: The men’s hockey Pool B match between India and Wales is underway. You can follow it on our other live blog here.

3 pm: The table tennis women’s team final has just started where India are going for gold against Singapore! In the first match, Manika Batra takes on Tianwei Feng.

2.55 am: India’s Lovlina Borgohain loses to Sandy Ryan of England in the boxing women’s 69 kg quarter-final. This is the first defeat for an Indian boxer at the Games! And what a close one at that. Lovlina loses to the fancied Ryan but not without a fight – a split decision 3-2 in the England boxer’s favour. There really was hardly anything separating the two boxers and the judges’ decision reflects that.

2.40 pm: Easy as you like it in the third attempt as Seema finishes Snatch at 84 kg. If only she could have done that in the second attempt!

2.37 pm: A failed second Snatch from Seema as she fails to lift 84 kg. Can she make the final attempt?

2.34 pm: Good start for Seema in the women’s 75 kg weightlifting final as she succeeds in her first 80 kg Snatch.

2.13 pm: The women’s 75 kg weightlifting final is about to begin, in which India’s Seema is competing. Stay tuned...

1.43 pm: Indian cyclist Deborah Herold has failed to qualify for the second round of the Women’s Keirin after finishing fourth in her heat. She will advance to the first round repechages.

1.17 pm: Indian gymnast Rakesh Patra finishes last in the men’s Rings final after getting a score of only 12.933. The gold medal winner, England’s Courtney Tulloch, scored 14.833.

12.44 pm: Here are the three medalists in the men’s 94 kg weightlifting final.

GOLD: Steven Kari (Papua New Guinea)

SILVER: Boady Santavy (Canada)

BRONZE: Vikas Thakur (India)

12.38 pm: Shot putter Tejinder Pal Singh finished sixth in his group with a mark of 19.10 metres, in his third and final attempt. It was nowhere close to his season and personal best of 20.40, but he did enough to qualify for the final, with 19 being the mark required to reach the final. World Indoor champion, big Kiwi Tom Walsh is leading qualifiers by quite a distance, with a Games record throw of 22.45 metres.

12.25 pm: The Athletics Federation of India has issued a clarification that Manish Rawat was not disqualified in the men’s 20km racewalk, as was posted earlier. He just received a warning and finished 6th in the race.

12.09 pm: It’s a BRONZE medal for India’s Vikas Thakur in the weightlifting men’s 94 kg category. Papua New Guinea’s Steven Kari wins the gold after breaking the Commonwealth and Games record in Clean and Jerk (216 kg) and the equalled the combined Games record of 370 kg. Inhuman stuff!

12.06 pm: Manu Bhaker spoke to the media after her gold earlier today in the women’s 10m Air Pistol:

“I am very happy... it is my first Commonwealth Games and I won with a qualification record also. The gap between me and the second competitor, that was a huge margin. So it was pleasure winning this medal for India and I am very, very happy.”

12.02 pm: Meanwhile, India’s Muhammad Anas has topped his 400m heat with a timing of 45.96. Outstanding run by Anas, who was in the outside lane. It surprised many. He did not falter as the race came to an end. He’s through to the semis!

12 pm: Vikas Thakur successfully lifts his first Clean and Jerk attempt of 192 kg but then fails in the next two after increasing the weight to 200 kg! However, he is still assured of a medal – either silver or bronze – in the men’s 94 kg final.

11.54 am: Saniya Sheikh misses out on a medal in the women’s skeet after finishing fourth. Tough luck!

11.46 am: Saniya Sheikh avoids elimination again, but only just because of her higher bib number, after 30 shots. She needs to shoot better to make it to the medal round.

11.37 am: Saniya Sheikh hits 15 out of 20 targets and avoids the first elimination in the women’s skeet final. She was in the top two earlier but then missed three successive targets to fall back to fifth.

11.29 am: Saniya Sheikh has shot 12 out of 14 targets so far in the women’s skeet final. She’s doing well so far.

11.26 am: Pranati Nayak is out of medal contention in the women’s vault after getting a .1000 penalty on her first vault. She finishes with total score of 11.983.

11.23 am: The women’s Skeet final, with India’s Saniya Sheikh, has also started and she is off to a good start!

11.11 am: The women’s vault final has started, in which India’s Pranati Nayak is in action. Stay tuned for updates.

10.50 am: So Vikas Thakur ends the Snatch section in second place behind Canada’s CWG record-setter Boady Santavy, who has a 9 kg gap over the Indian. Still, Vikas has done really well to put himself in medal contention in a tough field. Over to the Clean and Jerk now!

10.49 am: Canada’s Boady Santavy breaks the CWG Snatch record by lifting an incredible 168 kg! Oooof! And he’s only 20 years old!

10.41 am: Vikas Thakur puts on 3 more kilos on the bar but it hardly makes a difference again as he coolly lifts 159 kg in his final Snatch! Amazing!

10.35 am: Vikas Thakur goes for the 156 kg Snatch and makes it seem as if the extra 4 kg hardly made a difference! Super stuff!

10.30 am: Vikas Thakur with a brilliant lift of 152 kg in his first Snatch! Made it look so easy! He’s going for 156 kg next.

10 am: Vikas Krishan carries on Indian boxers’ impressive run at Gold Coast after a facile win over Australia’s Campbell Somerville in the Round of 16, where he got a unanimous decision in his favour. Vikas is through to the quarters! Onwards!

9.54 am: India are finally through to the gold-medal round of the badminton mixed-team event as Saina Nehwal wraps up a comfortable singles win to give her team an unassailable 3-1 lead over Singapore. India will take on either England or Malaysia in the final on Monday!

9.50 am: Indian shooter Saniya Sheikh is through to final of the Women’s Skeet event as she finishes second in qualification with 71 points. The final starts at 11.15 am IST.

9.42 am: Up next is the men’s 94 kg weightlifting final, where India’s Vikas Thakur faces stiff competition from Canada’s Boady Santavy, Samoa’s Siaosi Leuo and Papua New Guinea’s Steven Kari.

9.33 am: Here are the three medallists in the men’s 10m Air Rifle. Australia’s Dane Sampson wins gold after setting a CWG record of 245.0. Final standings below.

9.30 am: It’s BRONZE for India’s Ravi Kumar in the men’s 10m Air Rifle as he gets eliminated after 22 shots with a score of 224.1.

9.26 am: Ravi Kumar gets into a 3rd-4th-place shoot-off with Australia’s Alex Hoberg but scrapes through to the final three with a 10.6 compared with 10.4! A medal is assured for the Indian!

9.23 am: Here are the standings after 18/24 shots in the men’s 10m Air Rifle final. Ravi Kumar is in with a great chance to win gold or silver.

9.20 am: Deepak Kumar has just been eliminated from the men’s 10m Air Rifle final. Ravi Kumar is still in the fray.

9.18 am: After a poor start by both Indians in the men’s 10m Air Rifle final, Ravi Kumar has recovered to be among the top three after 14 shots. Deepak Kumar also doing better than how he started but could be eliminated soon. Still a long way from over this final!

9.13 am: Singapore have pulled one back against India in the badminton mixed-team semi-finals! The men’s doubles pair of Yong Kai Terry Hee and Danny Bawa Chrisnanta came back from a game down to beat Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty 17-21, 21-19, 21-12. It’s now up to Saina Nehwal to secure India’s passage to the final.

9 am: The men’s 10m Air Rifle final has just started with India’s Deepak Kumar and Ravi Kumar in the fray.

8.55 am: So just to recap what has happened so far this crazy Sunday morning for India...

Shooting: The 16-year-old Manu Bhaker blew the field away with a dominating performance in the women’s 10m Air Pistol to clinch GOLD. Heena Sidhu staged an incredible comeback to fight off multiple eliminations and won SILVER.

Weightlifting: Another GOLD medal there. After a smooth Snatch section, Punam Yadav appeared to be hurting during Clean & Jerk, but pulled off a thrilling win in the closing stages.

Table tennis: Emotional scenes as the Indian women progressed to the final of the team event with a 3-0 win over England. While a silver is assured, Manika Batra, Mouma Das and Madhurika Patkar will go for GOLD against top seeds Singapore.

Badminton: India are up 2-0 in their mixed-team semi-final against Singapore. Another win in the men’s doubles and India will be through to the gold-medal round.

Boxing: Mary Kom, on her CWG debut, confirmed a medal with a unanimous-decision win in her quarter-final.

Women’s hockey: Indian women stunned world No 2 and Olympic Champions England, coming back from a goal down to win 2-1.

8.48 am: Meanwhile, Indian swimmer Sajan Prakash has qualified for the semi-finals of the men’s 100m butterfly after finishing second in his heat with a timing of 54.11 seconds.

8.40 am: In case you’re wondering, this is how the medals table looks. India up to 3rd! Still a long way off Australia and England but great start nonetheless!

8.35 am: Here’s India’s sixth gold medallist at the 2018 Commonwealth Games – Manu Bhaker!

8.31 am: Over in badminton, K Srikanth has defeated Kean Yew Loh to give India a 2-0 lead in their mixed-team semi-final against Singapore! One more win and India will be in the final!

8.29 am: It’s raining medals for India right now, although this one won’t be official until Monday. The Indian women’s table tennis team has reached the final after beating England 3-0 and will fight for gold against Singapore! Come on!

8.24 am: And it’s another medal assured for India, as MC Mary Kom wins her first bout (women’s 45-48 kg quarter-final) with an unanimous decision and enters the semis. She will win a bronze at the least in her first CWG appearance but she’ll definitely want a medal of another colour!

8.14 am: And here are the three medallists in the women’s 10m Air Pistol. The medal ceremony will begin shortly!

8.10 am: Here is the leaderboard for the women’s 10m Air Pistol final, where Manu Bhaker and Heena Sidhu have secured a 1-2 for India! Bhaker also broke the Commonwealth Games record along the way to her first gold at the event. At just 16 years old!

8 am: It’s GOLD for Manu Bhaker in the women’s 10m Air Pistol! Near flawless performance and she has also broken the CWG record! She’s just 16 years old, folks! WOW!

7.52 am: Indian shooters are doing extremely well in the women’s 10m Air Pistol final! Manu Bhaker and Heena Sidhu both in contention for medals, with the former almost a certainty for gold!

7.49 am: Over in table tennis, India lead England 2-0 in the women’s team semi-finals after four-game wins each for Manika Batra and Madhurika Patkar.

7.46 am: It’s another 1-2 finish for India in shooting qualification, this time in the men’s 10m Air Rifle. Deepak Kumar qualifies with a CWG qualification record score, while Ravi Kumar is 2nd. The final will begin at 9 am IST.

7.42 am: Meanwhile, MC Mary Kom’s first ever Commonwealth Games boxing match has begun in the women’s 45-48 kg quarter-finals.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa have given India a 1-0 lead against Singapore in the badminton mixed-team semi-finals with a 22-20, 21-18 win.

7.39 am: Punam Yadav gets a bit emotional as the Indian national anthem is played at Gold Coast. What an effort this has been!

7.26 am: Unbelievable scenes at the women’s 69 kg weightlifting final as England’s Sarah Davies goes for an incredible 128 kg final Clean and Jerk lift to pip Punam Yadav for gold but fails! Punam has just won India’s 5th GOLD of the 2018 Commonwealth Games!

7.15 am: Oh dear, another weightlifter looking in pain during the critical stages of the event. Something tells we haven’t heard the last of the physio situation. Meanwhile, Punam Yadav successfully lifts 118 kg in her first Clean and Jerk but then fails to lift 122 kg in her second! She’s under some pressure now for the gold.

7.05 am: A creditable 4th-place finish for Khushbhir Kaur in the 20km women’s racewalk. She finishes with a time of 1:39:21, over six minutes off the winner. Well off her season best though... which incidentally would have fetched her gold.

6.57 am: What a start to the badminton! Satwik and Ashwini were leading 10-2 and then 19-11 and then 20-17, but allowed the Singaporeans to draw level at 20-20! Satwik-Ashwini eventually won the first game 22-20. Lapse in concentration there in the second half from the Indians.

6.38 am: The badminton mixed-team semi-final between India and Singapore is just about to begin. Here is the line-up, with Saina Nehwal and K Srikanth shouldering the singles responsibility again. Still no sign of PV Sindhu or HS Prannoy.

6.34 am: BREAKING – The Indian women’s hockey team has just beaten England 2-1 in their Pool match. If you missed the match, catch up on it in our hockey live blog.

6.32 am: The table tennis women’s team semi-final between India and England has just started, with Manika Batra taking on Kelly Sibley in the first singles match.

6.17 am: Punam Yadav and Fiji’s Apolonia Vaivai are at the top of the table after the Snatch in the women’s 69 kg weightlifting final. They’ve got a 5 kg lead over the rest. Punam is in pole position to clinch gold since her declared Clean and Jerk first attempt is the highest in the pack – 122 kg, which is 7 kg more than what Vaivai has declared so far. But that could change.

6.14 am: It’s 3/3 for Punam Yadav in Snatch as she successfully lifts 100 kg in her final Snatch attempt! Fiji’s Apolonia Vaivai then attempts to take a 3 kg lead at the top by attempting 103 kg but fails!

6.07 am: Punam Yadav lifts 98 kg in her second Snatch attempt and that’s put her back in the lead! She’s going for 100 kg next.

6.03 am: The 10m Air Rifle Men’s Qualification is about to begin, with Indian shooters Deepak Kumar and Ravi Kumar in action.

5.58 am: A clean first Snatch of 95 kg from Punam Yadav and she’s got off to a great start in her quest for gold! Come on!

5.50 am: Khushbir Kaur is in fifth place after 12 km of the women’s 20 km Racewalk. Can she improve her position? She is at least one minute behind the walker in third spot currently.

5.35 am: Meanwhile, the women’s 69 kg weightlifting final is underway, with India’s Punam Yadav one of the favourites for gold! Stay tuned for updates.

5.30 am: Oh no! Just hearing that Manish Singh was disqualified from the race for “unsporting manner or improper conduct”. Soumya Baby has also been disqualified from the women’s 20 km walk!

5.20 am: India’s Manu Bhaker and Heena Sidhu have both qualified for the women’s 10m air pistol final after finishing on top in qualification. Bhaker even broke the CWG qualification record with a 388 after four series! Super stuff! Here are the eight shooters who have qualified for the final.

5.10 am: The women’s 20 km Racewalk has also started with India’s Soumiya B and Khushbir Kaur in the fray.

5.06 am: India’s Saniya Sheikh is joint first while Maheshwari Chauhan is third in the women’s skeet qualification after the first round.

4.55 am: Earlier this morning, India’s Manish Singh took part in the men’s 20 km Racewalk and came sixth, with a time of 1:22.22. He was 2 minutes and 48 seconds behind the eventual gold winner, Australia’s Dane Bird-Smith. Another Indian, Irfan Kolothum Thodi, could only manage to come 13th out of 15.

4.50 am: The women’s 10 m Skeet qualification has also started, with India’s Maheshwari Chauhan and Saniya Sheikh competing.

4.45 am: The women’s 10m Air Pistol qualification is underway, with India’s Heena Sidhu and Manu Bhaker in the fray. Stay tuned for updates.

4 am: Good morning and welcome to The Field’s live blog for day four of the Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast, Australia. Sunday promises to be a busy and exciting day, with shooting and athletics events being added to the mix.

The shooting contingent is India’s most successful one when it comes to the Commonwealth Games – and that usually signals a medal glut. The focus is firmly trained on teen sensation Manu Bhaker. The 16-year-old will be lining up alongside the experienced Heena Sidhu in the women’s 10m air pistol event at the Belmont Shooting Range.

Seeking to improve their medal haul from the last edition, India begin their athletics campaign in the Commonwealth Games with the men’s and women’s race walkers competing in the 20km event on Sunday.

India had won gold, silver and bronze in the 2014 Glasgow Games and the country’s athletes are aiming to increase that haul with the likes of javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and young high jumper Tejaswin Shankar in impressive form.

Three more weightlifters are in action and they could well add to their compatriots’ already impressive outing in Gold Coast. The Indian badminton team is up against Singapore in the semi-finals in what will the first real test for the medal favourites. There are medal opportunities in gymnastics and table tennis as well.

Here is the complete Day 4 schedule for India.

If you missed the action on Day 3, where India won two gold medals, here is a recap.