SHOOTING DOWN MEDALS: Indian shooters continued attracting medals on Wednesday as Shreyasi Singh won gold in the women’s Double Trap, while Om Mitherval and Ankur Mittal got silver in the men’s 50m Pistol and Double Trap respectively.
DAY SEVEN: It’s a packed Wednesday for India at the Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast, with shooting, boxing, athletics, badminton, table tennis and squash, among others, on the cards. Here is the day’s schedule.
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06:15 pm: Wrapping up another packed day...
Three medals were added to the Indian tally with Shreyashi Singh (GOLD) and Ankur Mittal (BRONZE) medalling in their respective double trap events, while Om Mitharval picked up his second bronze of the Games in the 50m pistol event. A few more medals were confirmed as the boxing contingent continued with their strong showing. Defeats for Sarita Devi and Pinki Rani were disappointments but Mary Kom and the male boxers (undefeated so far) progressed. The hockey team produced remarkable comeback to win their match against England 4-3 and top the group. There was disappointment for Jitu Rai (50m pistol) and Tejaswin Shankar (high jump) though while Hima Das produced another great run, with a personal best, finishing sixth in the final of the 400m. Badminton, Table Tennis and Squash saw Indians progress with ease in their disciplines.
Join us for more action on Thursday!
06:10 pm: To go with the 100% win-rate for the badminton singles stars, Satwik-Ashwini and Pranaav-Sikki also won their mixed doubles round of 32 matches.
06:05 pm: Just a quick round-up of the squash action.
Dipika-Joshna: Played 3, won 3
Dipika-Saurav: Played 2, won 2
Joshna-Harinder: Played 2, won 2
All 3 pairs top their respecitive groups.
5.57 pm: And as the day comes to an end, here is what the medal tally looks like.
5.22 pm: Hima Das finished in 6th place. But she recorded a PB in doing so. She came back strongly in the last 100m.
Her Personal Best coming into the Games was 51.97. She has bettered it twice now - and has shaved off 0.65 seconds. This is big. She should be in prime position for a medal at the Asian Games later this year. But how much better can she get before Tokyo 2020?
The current national record is 51.05, which was set by Manjit Kaur in 2004.
5.14 pm: It is time for the Women’s 400m Final. Hima Das in Lane 1.
5.04 pm: Final standings from the High Jump. Mitchell Starc’s brother, Brandon, has won the gold medal. Tejaswin finished in 6th place.
4.53 pm: Women’s 400m Final coming up next. This will be a great experience for Hima Das. She is slotted in Lane 1, not ideal but it will have to do.
4.43 pm: Men’s Hockey
It’s full time and India edge England 4-3 in a thriller to top their group!! This also means they will avoid the favourites Australia in the semi-finals. India will take on New Zealand in the last four. If you missed the match, you can catch up with it on our hockey live blog here.
4.36 pm: Men’s Hockey
GOALS!! Absolutely incredible scenes at the Gold Coast Hockey Centre as India score two quick late, late goals themselves to retake the lead! It’s 4-3 right now with seconds to go! You can follow live updates from the India-England match on our hockey live blog here.
4.32 pm: Men’s High Jump Final
Tejaswin Shankar fails in his third and final attempt of the 2.27 m jump and this means he is out of contention for a medal! Really unfortunate considering he has jumped 2.28 before.
4.30 pm: Men’s Hockey
GOALS! England score two quick goals late in the fourth quarter and currently lead India 3-2! What a turnaround! You can follow live updates from the India-England match on our hockey live blog here.
4.28 pm: Men’s High Jump Final
Tejaswin Shankar fails his second attempt of 2.27 m as well! He’s got only one more chance left. His personal best is 2.28 m so let’s hope he makes it!
4.25 pm: Men’s High Jump Final
Tejaswin Shankar fails his first attempt of 2.27 m! He’s got two more attempts left.
4.24 pm: Men’s Hockey
GOAL! India take the lead in the fourth quarter via a penalty corner! Rupinder Pal Singh scores with a deflection off an England defender. England refer the decision but the goal stands! India 2-1 England with less than 10 minutes to go! You can follow live updates from the India-England match on our hockey live blog here.
4.11 pm: Men’s High Jump Final
Tejaswin Shankar jumps 2.24 m in his first attempt and is going strong! We can expect a few higher jumps than this considering his personal best is 2.28. Unfortunately, the broadcasters have not shown a single jump of his so far!
4.05 pm: Table tennis Men’s Singles R32
India’s Sharath Kamal and Harmeet Desai both progress to the Round of 16 after winning their opening encounters but in contrasting fashion. Sharath took a three-game lead in the best-of-seven encounter against Javen Choong before the Malaysian fought back and won the next three. Sharath won the decider 11-7 to seal his progress.
Harmeet, meanwhile, won in straight games against Papua New Guinea’s Geoffrey Loi.
3.59 pm: Men’s Hockey
GOAL! India captain Manpreet Singh brings his team back on level terms, scoring a very-well worked field goal. It’s 1-1 now in the third quarter. You can follow live updates from the India-England match on our hockey live blog here.
3.55 pm: Men’s High Jump Final
Tejaswin Shankar fails his first attempt of 2.18 m but clears it the second time. He then successfully clears 2.21 m on his first attempt.
3.48 pm: India’s Neena Nellickal and Nayana James have both qualified for the women’s Long Jump final as one of the 12 best performers in the qualifying groups! The final will take place at 3.55 pm IST on Thursday.
3.43 pm: Men’s Hockey
At half time, England still lead India 1-0. The English defenders have not let India get too close to the goal for a while now. The momentum seems to be with England. You can follow live updates from the India-England match on our hockey live blog here.
3.37 pm: Here is how the judges saw the bout.
3.35 pm: Boxing Men’s 60kg Quarter-final
India’s Manish Kaushik is awarded his bout against England’s Calum French by a unanimous decision, even though it looked like a pretty close contest! French looked pretty confident of winning after the three rounds as the two boxers awaited the judges’ verdict, but it was the Indian who won. Kaushik is through to the semi-finals, which means he is assured of a medal!
3.24 pm: Men’s hockey
GOAL! In the second quarter, David Condon collects a superb pass in front of the goal mouth and unleashes a volley between the legs of PR Sreejesh. The Indian goalkeeper has no chance there. England 1-0 India. You can follow live updates from the India-England match on our hockey live blog here.
3.08 pm: Men’s hockey
India are through to the semi-final yes, but in the other group, Australia have looked typically unbeatable, finishing first. Manpreet Singh and Co will must win against England today to avoid the Kookaburras in the semi-final. You can follow live updates from the India-England match on our hockey live blog here.
3.06 pm: India’s singles shuttlers breezed through to the Round of 16, winning their opening matches without much strain. No Indian shuttler was on court for more than 30 minutes in their openers. Vinayakk M was jobless enough to dig up these stats:
2.59 pm: Badminton men’s singles
HS Prannoy is also through to the pre-quarters after beating Mauritius’s Christopher Jean Paul in straight games in the Round of 32. This means that all of India’s singles shuttlers are, unsurprisingly, in the Round of 16.
2.55 pm: Women’s long jump qualifying
India’s Neena Nellickal and Nayana James have both failed to touch the automatic qualification mark of 6.60 in the long jump. Both had one of their three attempts faulted. They still have a chance of making the final as one of the 12 best performers.
2.52 pm: Table tennis women’s singles
India’s Mouma Das and Madhurika Patkar have both won their Round of 32 matches. While Mouma won in straight games, Madhurika lost one 14-12.
2.44 pm: Women’s Long Jump Qualifying Round
India’s Nellickal V Neena records 6.17 in her first jump, which is short of the automatic qualification mark of 6.60. She has two more attempts left.
2.27 pm: Mehuli Ghosh has just tweeted, a day after winning silver in the women’s 10m Air Rifle.
2.20 pm: Here’s a look at how the points were split through the three rounds. Too tight to call and unfortunately Pinki ends up on the losing side.
2.15 pm: Women’s 51kg Quarter-final
Lisa Whiteside wins a terrific bout against Pinki Rani via a split 3:2 decision from the judges! There was no way of telling who was doing better throughout the three-round bout and, at the end, the judges were rightly split.
2.09 pm: Badminton Women’s singles
Ruthvika Shivani also cruises into the Round of 16 after beating Grace Atipaka of Ghana 21-5, 21-7 in 18 minutes. Can we fast-forward to the semi-finals, maybe? #Sorry
2.06 pm: Badminton Women’s singles
No trouble for Sindhu as well as she storms through to the pre-quarters after beating Andra Whiteside in just 18 minutes!
2.05 pm: Boxing Women’s 51kg Quarter-final
India’s Pinki Rani is in the ring for her quarter-final against England’s Lisa Whiteside. Stay tuned for updates...
2 pm: Badminton women’s singles
PV Sindhu too is coasting through her second-round match against Fiji’s Andra Whiteside. The way Indian players have been performing so far, perhaps head coach P Gopichand can go do a bit of sightseeing?
1.42 pm: Badminton men’s singles
Easy as you like it! Srikanth is through to the Round of 16 without much trouble. Took only 26 minutes to knock out Mauritius’s Aatish Lubah.
1.30 pm: Badminton men’s singles
Aatish Lubah started well against Srikanth and even had a 7-4 lead in the first game, but the Indian moved up a gear and won it 21-13. Should be smooth sailing for Srikanth from here.
Correction: Unlike what was stated earlier, Ankur Mittal did not make it to the gold-medal round despite ending with the same number of points as Tim Kneale in the bronze cut-off round of the Men’s Double Trap Final because the Indian’s qualification rank (5th) was lower than Kneale’s (3rd).
1.17 pm: Badminton men’s singles
Now time for K Srikanth’s second-round match against Mauritius’s Aatish Lubah.
1.04 pm: Badminton women’s singles
Well, that was....savage. Saina Nehwal routs Elise De Villiers 21-3, 21-1 in the women’s singles Round of 32. Nehwal is through to the pre-quarters after playing for just 18 minutes!
12.53 pm: Badminton women’s singles
Saina Nehwal is on court playing her second-round match against South Africa’s Elise De Villiers, and she has raced off to an early lead! Saina wins the first game 21-3! Brutal.
12.50 pm: Mixed doubles table tennis:
Manika Batra and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran are also through to the pre-quarterfinals after beating Malaysia’s Ho Ying and Leong Chee Feng in straight games.
12.39 pm: In case you were wondering why Ankur Mittal got bronze despite ending the bronze cut-off round with the same number of points as the eventual silver medallist Tim Kneale, it’s because of the Shotgun Count-back Rule.
According to this rule, the shooter who performed the best in the last round will progress to the next round. Mittal missed three shots in that round, while Kneale just missed one. This is why the Indian was eliminated.
If both shooters are tied in the last round, the next-to-last round will be considered, and so on. If this still does not break ties, the target-by-target count-back will begin with the last target of the last round.
12.30 pm: Shreyasi Singh has just received her gold medal – India’s 12th of the colour at these Games!
12.20 pm: Mixed doubles table tennis
Madhurika Patkar and Sanil Shetty beat Sri Lanka’s Buwaneka Jayasingha Mudiyanselage and Erandi Warusawithana in straight games 11-5, 11-8, 11-5 to progress to the Round of 16.
12.10 pm: Mixed doubles table tennis
India’s Manika Batra and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran are taking on Malaysia’s Ho Ying and Leong Chee Feng in the Round of 32. The Indians have won the first game 11-7.
11.52 am: Here are the final standings in the Men’s Double Trap Final.
11.48 am: Men’s Double Trap Final
Scotland’s David McMath wins the gold after breaking the Games record with a score of 74! Incredible shooting!
11.42 am: Men’s Double Trap Final
Ankur Mittal is eliminated after 60 shots, which means he will get the BRONZE!
11.38 am: Men’s Double Trap Final
India’s Ashab Mohd unfortunately will not win a medal as he is eliminated after 50 shots, with a score of 43/50. Ankur Mittal is tied with David McMath at the top! Who will win gold?
11.35 am: Men’s Double Trap Final
It’s Scotland’s David McMath’s turn to have a perfect round as he cuts Ankur Mittal’s lead to just one point! Pakistan’s Aamer Iqbal gets eliminated after 40 shots.
11.30 am: Men’s Double Trap Final
Ankur Mittal is on fire! He again goes through a round of 10 shots without missing a single one and has a two-point lead at the top. Australia’s James Willett becomes the first shooter to be eliminated after scoring only 23/30.
11.26 am: Men’s Double Trap Final
Ankur Mittal is still in the lead after 20 shots, despite missing two in the second round. Ashab Mohd has missed three more, so he needs to do better in order to avoid elimination.
11.23 am: Men’s Double Trap Final
After 10 shots, Ankur Mittal hasn’t missed even once! Superb shooting! Ashab Mohd was doing well till the seventh shot but then missed two of the last three.
11.13 am: Men’s Double Trap Final
ICYMI, here’s how the six finalists fared in the qualification round.
11.10 am: The Men’s Double Trap Final has started, with Ashab Mohammed and Ankur Mittal among six shooters contesting for medals! Stay tuned...
11.04 am: The Field’s Arka Bhattacharya chips in:
Interesting to note that none of the boxers who won medals in Glasgow – Sarita Devi, Vijender Singh, Mandeep Jangra, Devendro Singh – will do so in Gold Coast. It’s an entirely different set of boxers who have assured India of at least eight medals at Gold Coast.
10.52 am: And just look at India’s medals from shooting!
10.48 am: Shreyasi had won the silver medal in the singles double trap event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow having scored 92 points in the final. This time, she has gone one better. Outstanding stuff!
10.38 am: Gold for Shreyasi! She hit both her targets and Emma Cox missed one of them. What a dramatic gold medal! AC/DC’s Thunderstruck playing in the background. That’s just what happened. What a turnaround. India’s Varsha Varman finishes 4th with a score of 86.
10.35: Shoot-off for gold in the women’s double trap. Shreyasi going for gold!
10.31 am: Men’s 75kg Quarterfinal.
Round 3: Vikas’ defence has been superb. Very solid. The Zambian was not able to hurt him. Very measured fight by Vikas but in the third round, he looked so good. This really was boxing showing why it is also known as the sweet science.
Result: Points decision in favour of Vikas.
10.28 am: Men’s 75kg Quarterfinal.
Round 2: Vikas waiting for the Zambian to tire himself out. A very tactical fight this. More dominant this time round, Vikas has asserted himself more in this round. This round should go to him.
10.24 am: Men’s 75kg Quarterfinal.
Round 1: Vikas defending well in the early going. Muziyo, who got a KO in the earlier round, throwing a lot of the punches. Tight round. Muziyo might just get this on account of the number of punches he threw and how positive he was.
10.17 am: Men’s 75kg Quarterfinal. India’s Vikas Krishan is entering the ring. Muziyo is a big-hitter but Vikas is a very experienced boxer – made the quarters at Rio too.
10.10 am: Do you know who were the first women to win Commonwealth Games medals for India?
9.40 am: Good news from the shooting range. Md Ashab and Ankur Mittal qualify for Men’s Double Trap final, which is scheduled for 11:15 am IST today. Ashab had a poor last round but was on course to finish as the top qualifier.
9.36 am: Back to Table Tennis where India have had one loss and one win in the mixed doubles competition. This was the round of 32.
9.24 am: Men’s 52kg Quarterfinal.
Round 3: Keama gave it his best shot but Solanki is not just technically good, he has a lot of heart too. Solanki’s punches have good zip and he is making it look easy. He works the body, he weaves, he hits. This guy is good.
Result: Solanki wins, he won every round on every scorecard.
9.18 am: Men’s 52kg Quarterfinal.
Round 2: Solanki starting to dominate now. Using his feet and landing some good combinations as well. In, out, shot to the body, repeat. Lovely boxing by Solanki. He has this. Keama has not been able to counter the young Indian.
9.12 am: Men’s 52kg Quarterfinal.
Round 1: Solanki is a Southpaw and that usually throws opponents off for a bit. Charles KEAMA, the Asian Oceania champion, has been charging forward. Clearly an inside boxer. But Solanki’s quick hands are doing the trick for now. Some lovely hooks by the Indian too. Both boxers threw a lot of punches, Solanki seemed to connect more.
9.12 am: Men’s 52kg Quarterfinal. 21-year-old Solanki will be looking for a win here.
8.59 am: Women’s double trap final
Meanwhile, Shreyasi Singh and Varsha Varman continue to be in medal contention but Emma Cox seems to be in a class of her own.
8.55 am: Men’s 52kg Quarterfinal 1 is coming up next and India’s Gaurav Solanki will be in action there. The bout is scheduled to begin at 9.02 am.
8:50 am: Men’s doubles - table tennis
Third win of the day for India in their third match as Harmeet Desai & Sanil Shetty defeat Shemar Britton and Christopher Franklin from Guyana in straight games 11-6, 11-5, 11-7 to enter the last 16.
8:40 am: Women’s doubles - Squash
Not smooth sailing for the Glasgow 2014 gold medallists but Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal pull through in their Group C match against Wales. Won the first game handily, but lost the second before winning a tense third. Two wins out of two for the Indian duo so far and they sit top of their group, with one more match to go.
8.27 am: Boxing women’s 60 kg quarter-finals
India have just suffered their first loss in boxing for a while (2nd overall - CORRECTION) as Sarita Devi is defeated by Australia’s Anja Stridsman in the quarter-finals. It was not looking too good for Sarita Devi from the word go. Stridsman looked the better of the two in the first two rounds and the Indian needed a big final round to get a win. She did have a better third round, but it wasn’t enough. Sarita lost by a unanimous decision.
8.24 am: Men’s doubles table tennis
India’s Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran also record a facile second-round win over Kiribati’s Touramoa Miita and Nooa Takooa 11-2, 11-5, 11-6 to move on to the Round of 16.
8.22 am: Women’s doubles table tennis
India’s Pooj Sahasrabudhe and Suthirtha Mukherjee beat Mauritius’s Ruqayyah Kinoo and Sanjana Ramasawmy in straight games and rather easily 11-3, 11-4, 10-4 in the women’s doubles Round of 32.
8.20 am: Men’s doubles squash
India’s Vikram Malhotra and Ramit Tandon win a tense doubles match against Wales’s Peter Creed and Joel Makin 11-7, 8-11, 11-10 to move to the top of Pool F.
8.02 am: Here are the three medallists in the Men’s 50m Pistol:
GOLD: Daniel Repacholi (Aus)
SILVER: Shakil Ahmed (Ban)
BRONZE: Om Mitherval (Bronze)
8 am: Australia’s Daniel Repacholi wins the gold in the 50m Pistol after setting a Games record score of 227.2! He is absolutely elated!
7.54 am: Men’s 50m Pistol Final
Om Mitherval can only shoot 7.2 and 7.6 in the sixth round of Stage 2, which means he will not be able to contest for gold. It’s a second bronze for Mitherval at these games!
7.52 am: Men’s 50m Pistol Final
Om Prakash Mitherval is guaranteed a medal! He’s through to the final three.
7.50 am: Mary Kom is through to the final of the women’s 45-48 kg boxing event after winning her semi-final with a unanimous decision in her favour! Mary Kom will be fighting for gold in her first ever Commonwealth Games!
7.45 am: Men’s 50m Pistol Final
Jitu Rai has been eliminated after shooting a 9.1 in his 12th shot. He ends with a total of 105.0 with just one shot of 10.0 or above. This is a big upset!
7.40 am: Men’s 50m Pistol Final
Jitu Rai is in danger of being eliminated soon after a poor first stage! He is the defending champion, remember, so it will be a big shock. Om Mitherval, meanwhile, is on top!
7.30 am: The Men’s 50m Pistol final has started, where Jitu Rai is going for his second gold at Gold Coast!
Mary Kom’s boxing semi-final against Sri Lanka’s Anusha Dilrukshi has also begun! Stay tuned for updates.
7.18 am: Women’s Double Trap Final
Shreyasi Singh loses the top spot after the second round in which she does better than the first round but Australia’s Emma Cox shoots an incredible 28 targets to be in the gold position. Varsha Varman, meanwhile, has risen from sixth to fourth. Still two more rounds to go!
7.10 am: Squash men’s doubles
It’s 1-1 as Wales’s Peter Creed and Joel Makin win the second game to level things up against India’s Vikram Malhotra and Ramit Tandon. We’re headed into a decider!
6.58 am: Double Trap Men’s Qualification
India’s Ashab Mohd continues to lead the pack after three rounds, while Ankur Mittal has fought back into the top 6 who will make the cut for the final.
6.50 am: Squash men’s doubles
Vikram Malhotra and Ramit Tandon win the first game against Wales’s Peter Creed and Joel Makin 11-7 to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
6.35 am: The squash men’s doubles Pool match between India’s Vikram Malhotra and Ramit Tandon, and Wales’s Peter Creed and Joel Makin is about to begin.
6.25 am: India’s Shreyasi Singh leads the women’s Double Trap qualification with 24 shots after the first round. Varsha Varman is sixth with 21.
6.10 am: Here’s how the Men’s Double Trap Qualification table looks after two rounds. India’s Ashab Mohammed is on top, but Ankur Mittal is out of the top six who will qualify for the final. He’s still got some time to recover, though.
6.05 am: Meanwhile, the women’s Double Trap final has kicked off, with India’s Shreyasi Singh and Varsha Varman in the fray.
6 am: Here are the final qualification results for the 50m Pistol. These eight have qualified for the final, where Jitu Rai will go for his second gold of the Games! The final will take place at 7.30 am IST.
5.50 am: Om Mitherval scores a brilliant 94 in the sixth and final qualification series in the 50m Pistol to seal the top spot with a total score of 549! Jitu Rai gets 89 in the final series to end up with 542. He’s also through to the finals after finishing in 6th position.
5.40 am: Jitu Rai does a lot better in the fifth series of the 50m Pistol qualification, scoring 93 which has surely booked a final spot. Om Mitherval falters a bit to score 89 but he’s still on top of the table so far.
5.30 am: Om Mitherval continues to improve his score with every passing series of the 50m Pistol qualification, this time with a 95 in the fourth. Jitu Rai looks to be aiming to just be among the mix, scoring an 89 that has kept him in the top eight.
5.20 am: Jitu Rai drops a few spots after shooting only an 87 in the third series of the men’s 50m Pistol qualification, but Om Mitherval is improving with every round. He’s shot a 95 now.
5.15 am: Jitu Rai scores a 91 in the second series of the 50m Pistol qualification, while Om Mitherval gets 90. Both are so far in contention for the final.
5 am: In the Double Trap qualification, both Indians Ashab Mohammed and Ankur Mittal have had a good opening round.
4.55 am: Look who’s in town!
4.45 am: Jitu Rai scores a 93 in the first series (out of six) in the 50m Pistol qualification, but Om Mitherval can manage only an 89.
4.30 am: We begin the day with the men’s 50m Pistol and Double Trap qualifications. Jitu Rai is one of the favourites in the 50m Pistol and will be going for his second gold of the Games!
4 am: Good morning, all, and welcome to The Field’s live blog for day seven of the Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast, Australia, where India will look to add to their tally of 21 medals.
India’s best bet for more medals will be in shooting, where Jitu Rai and Om Mitherval will look to join Heena Sidhu as the only Indians to win more than one medal at Gold Coast.
Tejaswin Shankar and Hima Das are also in the finals of the Men’s High Jump and Women’s 400m respectively.
Here is the entire Day 7 schedule for India.
If you missed the action on Day 6, here is a recap.