Saina Nehwal beat PV Sindhu 21-18, 23-21 in the women’s singles final to win her second Commonwealth Games gold. Along with Sindhu, K Srikanth also won the silver after losing to Lee Chong Wei in three games in a great final. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty rounded up India’s badminton medal tally with a silver in men’s doubles.
In squash, Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa won the silver after losing their women’s doubles final in straight games. In table tennis, Manika Batra bagged her fourth medal of CWG 2018 after winning the mixed doubles bronze-medal playoff with Sathiyan G. Sharath Kamal also won the bronze in the men’s singles.
DAY ELEVEN: Indians are in action only in three sports on Sunday – badminton, squash and table tennis. Here is the entire schedule for the day.
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That’s it from us, then. A successful Commonwealth Games for India, with 66 medals including 26 gold. We hope you enjoyed our coverage throughout these 11 days. Do share any feedback you may have in the email address provided above. Until next time, then. Ciao!
12.28 pm: The Gold Coast closing ceremony is at 3 pm IST.
11.54 am: And that is officially a wrap of all the action from the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Here is the final medals tally, with Australia finishing on top, followed by England and India. Canada and New Zealand round up the top five.
11.51 am: New Zealand complete the double in the Rugby Sevens! After their women’s team beat Australia in the final, the men have now thrashed Fiji 14-0 to wrap up two golds!
11.45 am: And here’s Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal with their silver:
11.25 am: Who do you think was India’s biggest success story at Gold Coast? Take our poll:
11.20 am: New Zealand have beaten their trans-Tasman rivals and hosts Australia in the final of the women’s Rugby Sevens! New Zealand have a chance to make it a double gold as the men’s team takes on Fiji in their final.
11 am: Here’s Satwik and Chirag with their historic silver medals!
10.56 am: India finish with six medals in badminton. Mixed doubles was the only event where India did not win a medal at Gold Coast.
10.49 am: With only the Rugby Sevens women’s and men’s gold-medal matches left, here is how the medals table looks. India will finish third – an impressive performance!
10.45 am: Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy have just received their bronze medal for the women’s doubles.
10.41 am: Satwik and Chirag looked nowhere near their best in the final. They were not sharp and sometimes even lacked coordination. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that Satwik has played at least one match on every single day (total 11) of these Games, starting with the mixed-team event. However, regardless of the defeat, it’s been a superb effort from the two Indian youngsters who will learn a lot from this experience.
10.38 am: Badminton Men’s Doubles Final
Despite the defeat, it’s a silver for Satwik and Chirag in their first ever Commonwealth Games campaign! They are also the first badminton men’s doubles pair from India to win a medal at the Games. Take a bow!
10.36 am: Badminton Men’s Doubles Final
It’s all over! Langridge and Ellis take the second game 21-16 and that’s the gold for them!
10.35 am: Badminton Men’s Doubles Final
Langridge and Ellis win a brilliant rally to get them match point! 20-16.
10.34 am: Badminton Men’s Doubles Final
It’s 18-16 to Langridge and Ellis. Satwik and Chirag giving it their all but aren’t able to close down the gap to less than two points.
10.31 am: Badminton Men’s Doubles Final
Satwik and Chirag close the gap to two points! It’s 16-14 to Langridge and Ellis in the second game.
10.28 am: Badminton Men’s Doubles Final
Langridge and Ellis again open up a gap between them and the Indians. It’s 15-11 now.
10.25 am: Badminton Men’s Doubles Final
Satwik and Chirag cut their deficit from 5-11 to 9-11! Is a turnaround still possible?
10.22 am: Badminton Men’s Doubles Final
Langridge and Ellis take a substantial 11-5 lead into the second game’s interval. They’ve just not allowed Satwik and Chirag to play their game and already have one hand on the gold!
10.19 am: Badminton Men’s Doubles Final
The Englishmen open up a lead again. It’s 8-4 to England in the second game. Ominous signs for the Indians.
10.16 am: Badminton Men’s Doubles Final
A much better start to the second game by Satwik and Chirag but it is still 3-3 to begin.
10.13 am: Badminton Men’s Doubles Final
Langridge and Ellis take the first game 21-13. They were hardly challenged by Satwik and Chirag, who need to put up a much better show if they want to challenge for gold.
10.09 am: Badminton Men’s Doubles Final
It’s 17-11 to the English pair in the first game. Surely no way back now for Satwik and Chirag?
10.07 am: Badminton Men’s Doubles Final
The English pair stretch their lead to 14-9 in the first game. Totally dominant so far and have kept the Indians on the backfoot.
10.04 am: Badminton Men’s Doubles Final
Langridge and Ellis take a 11-7 lead into the interval. They have been the sharper of the two pairs and have looked to keep the rallies short and flat, not allowing the Indians the opportunity to smash.
10.02 am: Badminton Men’s Doubles Final
Langridge and Ellis maintain a three-point lead as the first game progresses. It’s 9-6 to the Englishmen now. Incredibly there has been no smash so far.
9.59 am: Badminton Men’s Doubles Final
Langridge and Ellis take an early 5-2 lead in the first game. Satwik and Chirag need to be alert!
9.57 am: This is quite amazing:
9.53 am: It’s almost time for the badminton men’s doubles final. Stay tuned...
9.43 am: Picture perfect!
9.40 am: Abhijeet Kulkarni puts some extra pressure on Satwik and Chirag:
In the last two editions of the CWG, India ended their campaign with a gold and both times it was the shuttlers who achieved the feat. Saina Nehwal did that in 2010 to take India ahead of England in the second spot and P Kashyap won the gold in 2014 in men’s singles. Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy will want to continue that record when they face England’s Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge in the men’s doubles final in a few minutes from now.
9.28 am: Badminton Women’s Doubles Final
It’s a straight-games win for Malaysia’s Mei Kuan Chow and Vivian Hoo over England’s Lauren Smith and Sarah Walker in the final. Nothing like the previous three badminton finals of the day.
9.21 am: There were a few stares exchanged between these two during a hotly contested gold-medal match, but good to see this after it was all over.
(Photo: AFP)
9.10 am: Here are some of the other results from Sunday morning at Gold Coast:
Marathon
Basketball re
Table Tennis
Rugby Sevens
8.55 am: HS Prannoy has posted a rather emotional message on Twitter after missing out on a medal at Gold Coast.
8.45 am: This is how the medals table looks right now. India will add one more medal to this tally – either gold or silver, as Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty await the start of the badminton men’s doubles final.
8.38 am: It’s been a great Games for India’s paddlers, with eight medals!
8.33 am: The gold and silver medallists with their coach and mentor. What a photo!
8.32 am: Saina and Sindhu have just received their medals. What a great moment for India! Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour won the bronze medal.
8.23 am: This obviously means that Srikanth wins the silver. He was looking good in that first game but was then steamrolled by Chong Wei in the next two. He’ll learn a lot from this match for sure.
8.22 am: Lee Chong Wei drops to the floor after winning his third Commonwealth Games gold medal! What a legend!
8.19 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
It’s all over! Chong Wei wins the decider 21-14!
8.18 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
It’s 19-14 to Chong Wei in the decider. All but over!
8.14 am: Squash Women’s Doubles Final
It’s silver for Joshna and Dipika as they lose to New Zealand’s King and Landers-Murphy in straight games in the final.
8.11 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
It’s now 14-7 to Chong Wei and he is absolutely schooling the world No 1 right now.
8.09 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
Did someone say this guy is 35 years old?! I refuse to believe that! Lee Chong Wei is now toying around with a player who is 10 years younger than him biologically! He leads Srikanth 11-5 at the break in the deciding game. It’s going to take a miracle for Srikanth to come back from here!
8.05 am: Squash Women’s Doubles Final
Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal are down a game in the squash women’s doubles final against New Zealand’s Joelle King and Amanda Landers-Murphy.
8.03 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
It’s 7-1 to Chong Wei in the decider and he’s got his god mode on! Oooof! Brutal stuff.
8.01 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
Chong Wei races to a 3-0 lead in the third game! This is looking ominous for Srikanth.
7.59 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
Chong Wei wins the second game 21-14 and we are into a decider! The Malaysian was absolutely ruthless in the second half of the second game and if he continues with that form in the third, Srikanth’s going to need something special to win the gold.
7.57 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
It’s 19-14 to Chong Wei in the second game and, surely, there is no coming back from Srikanth from here?
7.55 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
Unbelievable stuff from Chong Wei! He retrieves two big smashes from Srikanth – one that was aimed at the Malaysian’s body – before forcing the Indian to hit into the net! It’s 16-13 to Chong Wei and he has stepped it up!
7.53 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
Srikanth hits a jump smash into the net! Rare error of that type. It’s 14-12 to Chong Wei in the second game.
7.50 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
Meanwhile, it’s bronze for Sharath Kamal as he defeats Samuel Walker in five games.
7.49 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
Beautiful stuff from Chong Wei as he wins the next two points to take a 11-9 lead into the interval!
7.47 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
Srikanth hits what looks like an unplayable crosscourt smash but Chong Wei somehow manages to retrieve it. Srikanth then goes for one down the line and this time the Malaysian can’t reach it. Great rally! Srikanth leads 9-8.
7.45 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
From 5-5 to 7-7, this game is progressing in the same direction as the first! We’re going to be here for a while!
7.43 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
It’s 5-5 in the second game as two of Chong Wei’s shots go long!
7.41 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
Some drama at the net as both players look for a tap. Chong Wei ends up winning the point but Srikanth protests. The umpire overrules his protest. Chong Wei leads 4-2 in the second game and things are heating up!
7.39 am: Table Tennis Men’s Singles Bronze Medal Match
Sharath Kamal wins the fourth game 11-6 to stretch his lead to 3-1 in the match. He needs to win just one more game for the bronze.
7.36 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
Srikanth wins the next two points to take the first game 21-19! Heart-stopping stuff! Can only imagine what will happen if this match goes down to the wire!
7.35 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
Brilliant badminton from Chong Wei as he levels the score again to 19-19! WOW! Outstanding play!
7.33 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
Srikanth opens up a two-point lead at 19-17 in the first game. Can he close it out?
7.32 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
Three big smashes from Srikanth – two of which are saved by Chong Wei – takes him to a 17-16 lead before the Malaysian levels it again to 17-17! What a match this is!
7.30 am: Table Tennis Men’s Singles Bronze Medal Match
Samuel Walker has pulled one game back against Sharath Kamal. It’s 2-1 to the Indian now.
7.29 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
Chong Wei is in the lead again! 15-14 to the Malaysian.
7.23 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
Chong Wei stares at Srikanth after winning a longish rally that reduces the Indian’s deficit to 14-13! Game on, here!
7.23 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
Srikanth stretches his lead to 10-7 before some great reflexes from Chong Wei earn him two points. Srikanth wins the next point to take a 11-9 lead into the interval. He’s looking good after those initial unforced errors that had allowed Chong Wei to race to a 5-0 lead.
7.20 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
Meanwhile, Srikanth is in the lead against Chong Wei! 9-7 to the Indian in the first game.
7.19 am: Table Tennis Men’s Singles Bronze Medal Match
Sharath Kamal is one game win away from the bronze! He wins the second game 11-9 against Walker.
7.17 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
Srikanth wins four in a row himself to get himself back in the game! 5-4 to Chong Wei.
7.14 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
Lee Chong Wei races to a 5-0 lead in the opening game! Srikanth is slow off the blocks and the Malaysian is looking unstoppable already!
7.11 am: Badminton Men’s Singles Final
It’s almost time for Kidambi Srikanth vs Lee Chong Wei! Grab your cuppa.
7.08 am: Table Tennis Men’s Singles Bronze Medal Match
Sharath Kamal wins the opening game 11-7 against Samuel Walker.
7.03 am: There’s also Sharath Kamal’s bronze-medal playoff against England’s Samuel Walker in the table tennis, starting soon.
7.01 am: Don’t go anywhere, folks, because coming up next is what promises to be another thriller: K Srikanth and Lee Chong Wei battle it out for the men’s singles gold.
6.57 am: Here’s The Field’s Abhijeet Kulkarni on Saina’s brilliance.
Saina Nehwal once again showed that she can raise her game when it matters the most. She may not be as fluid with her movements as she was before that knee injury in 2016, but she definitely has the heart for the big fights. She knew exactly what she was doing and wasn’t afraid to take the risk of going for broke with an aggressive strategy. She laid down the marker that she was going to boss around unless Sindhu did something special.
6.55 am: This was Saina’s third straight win over Sindhu in the last six months, starting with the senior national championship in Nagpur last November. And in all three matches, she got her strategy spot on: be aggressive and finish off points as soon as possible.
6.52 am: There were no handshakes between Saina and Sindhu after that match. Clearly, even after training at the same academy, there’s still no love lost between the two. But if it wasn’t like this, perhaps we wouldn’t get to see matches like the one that just ended. I’m not complaining!
6.50 am: This is how much it means to her! Saina Nehwal, what a champion!
6.47 am: Badminton Women’s Singles Final
She’s won it! Saina wins the second game 23-21 to win the gold! What a game! What a match! Saina is the Commonwealth Games champion for the second time in her career!
6.46 am: Badminton Women’s Singles Final
Yet another unplayable crosscourt smash from Saina gives her another gold-medal point! 22-21 to Saina!
6.46 am: Badminton Women’s Singles Final
Sindhu with some great net play levels it again! It’s 21-21 as Sindhu roars!
6.45 am: Badminton Women’s Singles Final
Another great rally and Saina wins it to have a gold-medal point! Can she do it?
6.44 am: Badminton Women’s Singles Final
And it’s back level to 20-20! Sindhu manages to hit one long despite the drift working in her favour!
6.43 am: Badminton Women’s Singles Final
Yet another amazing rally but it’s Sindhu who wins it this time! 20-19 and a game point for Sindhu!
6.42 am: Badminton Women’s Singles Final
It’s 19-19 as Sindhu taps one wide! What is happening?! Saina within two points of the gold!
6.40 am: Badminton Women’s Singles Final
WHAT A RALLY! The best of the match so far and Saina wins it with a backhand cross-court! She’s closed the gap to 19-18! Jeeez!
6.37 am: Badminton Women’s Singles Final
19-16 to Sindhu as Saina nets a smash. Surely Sindhu can close this game from here?
6.35 am: Badminton Women’s Singles Final
Sindhu wins a long rally to again restore a three-point lead! It’s 17-14 to Sindhu in the second game. Can she go ahead and force a decider?
6.33 am: Badminton Women’s Singles Final
Saina closes the gap to 15-14 with some great net play!
6.32 am: Badminton Women’s Singles Final
It’s 15-12 now to Sindhu in the second game. She continues to maintain a 3-4-point lead in this game and Saina is just not able to go on a long run of points. Looks like we are headed for a deciding game, and that can only be good for Sindhu.
6.28 am: Badminton Women’s Singles Final
Sindhu stretches her lead to 13-8 before Saina wins two good rallies, again, with unplayable smashes! 13-10 now.
6.26 am: Badminton Women’s Singles Final
Saina hits a smash wide and it’s 11-8 to Sindhu in the second game! Sindhu looks a lot more confident in the second game and she is looking good around the net. Saina is still looking to use her power game against Sindhu and hasn’t changed her strategy. Will that change in the second half? Don’t think so.
6.23 am: Badminton Women’s Singles Final
The two players engage in a terrific rally, which ends with Nehwal’s backhand flick going into the net! 9-6 to Sindhu. Was that point the turning point in the match?
6.21 am: Badminton Women’s Singles Final
Sindhu opens up a three-point lead in the second game. It’s 8-5 to her.
6.18 am: Badminton Women’s Singles Final
It’s 4-4 in the second game and we’ve already had some amazing rallies in this second game! Sindhu is not going away so easily!
6.16 am: Here’s The Field’s Abhijeet Kulkarni on that first game:
Saina Nehwal was very aggressive in the first game, playing flat and fast, and her sliced drops caught Sindhu on the wrong foot quite often. But this high-intensity game plan is also very tiring and Sindhu easily capitalised every time Saina gave her the opportunity to attack or was pushed to the back court. Saina probably knows that she will have to win this in two or she may struggle to match Sindhu in the third.
6.14 am: Badminton Women’s Singles Final
From 14-20, Sindhu saves four game points before Saina seals the first game 21-18. But for those last couple of minutes in the first game, it was all Saina in that game. Sindhu looks rattled and her smashes are going wide – and long, thanks to the drift. Can she turn things around? Well, she needs to regain some composure if that is to happen.
6.08 am: Badminton Women’s Singles Final
Saina leads 19-14 in the first game. And Sindhu doesn’t look anywhere close to mounting a fightback!
6.05 am: Badminton Women’s Singles Final
Saina continues to dominate this first game. Her shots are not only powerful, but also very accurate! She leads 16-10.
6 am: Badminton Women’s Singles Final:
Saina Nehwal takes a healthy 11-6 lead into the interval of the first game, but at least four of those points were thanks to a substantial drift that is flowing from Sindhu’s half into Saina’s and thereby pushing Sindhu’s shuttles long. But Saina has been very aggressive and keeping Sindhu on her toes. You can’t say Saina does not deserve her lead.
5.53 am: In case you’re just waking up, Chris and Gabby Adcock have won the mixed doubles badminton title for the second straight time at the Commonwealth Games. The Field’s Vinayakk M had interviewed the couple when they had come down to India for the Premier Badminton League earlier this year. Here is the link to the interview.
5.45 am: Hope you’ve had your morning cuppa and are all awake! Because it’s time for the blockbuster match of the day – PV Sindhu vs Saina Nehwal! Here’s The Field’s Abhijeet Kulkarni on what to expect from the match:
This will be the third meeting between Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu in last six months and Saina has won the earlier two in straight games. While most top stars have been trying to emulate the Japanese model of engaging Sindhu in long rallies, Saina has adopted an aggressive approach during their last two meetings, not allowing Sindhu to get into her strides and play her downward strokes.
5.42 am: Badminton Mixed Doubles Final
The Adcocks win the gold! The defending champions were stretched all the way by Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith, but came out victorious in the end: 19-21, 21-17, 21-16.
5.34 am: Medals won by Manika Batra at the 2018 Commonwealth Games –
Women’s team GOLD
Women’s singles GOLD
Women’s doubles SILVER
Mixed doubles BRONZE
Whattey star!
5.20 am: Table Tennis Mixed Doubles
There’s no stopping Manika Batra! She adds the mixed doubles bronze medal to her already significant medal haul from Gold Coast! Batra and Sathiyan G beat Sharath Kamal and Mouma Das in straight games 11-6, 11-2, 11-4.
5.17 am: Badminton Mixed Doubles Final
Over in badminton, the Adcocks have fought back from a one-game deficit to level the gold-medal match 1-1 against compatriots Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith! This one’s going right down.
5.15 am: Table Tennis Mixed Doubles
Manika Batra is on course for adding another Commonwealth Games medal to her tally. She and Sathiyan G lead Sharath Kamal and Mouma Das 2-0 in the mixed doubles bronze-medal match.
4.50 am: Good morning, folks, and welcome to The Field’s live blog for the final day of the 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast.
Indians are competing only in three sports on Sunday but will go for gold in four of the six matches. The blockbuster clash of the day is the badminton women’s singles final between Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu.