By Elton Gomes
India got off to flying start on Day 1 of the Commonwealth Games 2018, by gaining gold and silver medals in the weightlifting category. Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu broke records and won a gold medal in women’s 48 kg weightlifting.
Chanu’s performance was miles ahead of the competition, as she set records in the snatch, clean and jerk, as well as the total. Chanu, who is a native of Manipur, registered 86 kg in the snatch, and 110 kg in clean and jerk, for a total of 196 kg.
P Gururaja’s silver medal in the men’s 56 kg weightlifting opened India’s medal account in the quadrennial competition. After failing twice in clean and jerk, Gururaja won the medal after managing to equal his personal best of 149 kg.
Medal tally
At the end of day 2, England topped the medal table, with six gold medals to its name, racking up its total count of medals to 12. Australia came in second with five gold medals, although the nation currently boasts of more total medals than England15 overall. Malaysia bagged third place after it acquired two gold medals.
India currently ranks seventh out of 14 in the table, after winning one gold and one silver medal.
Key developments
In other important results, India beat Pakistan in mixed-team badminton, and Sri Lanka, scoring 5-0 against each. Meanwhile, Wales conquered India 3-2 in women’s hockey. In women’s badminton, Ashwini Ponappa and Ruthvika Gadde beat Mahoor Shahzad and Palwasha Bashir in the women’s doubles category, scoring 21-16, 21-10.
Extending India’s lead, the now-infamous badminton player Saina Nehwal thrashed Pakistan’s Mahoor Shahzad 21-7, 21-11. In squash, Harinder Pal Sandhu and Vikram Malhotra claimed victory in their opening games. However, Saurav Ghosal lost in the men’s singles event, with the match ending in 64 tie.
After losing his round of 32 match against Malaysia’s Ivan Yuen, Harinder was eliminated from the games. However, the Indian team had a tremendous game in table tennis. The women’s table tennis team defeated Sri Lanka 3-0, while the men’s team beat Trinidad and Tobago by the same scoreline.
Day 2 of the games
The women’s hockey team will look to revive itself after their loss to Wales. All eyes will be on them as they fight hard to regroup and gain focus in the competition.
Meanwhile, the badminton team, after dominating over Sri Lanka and Pakistan, will face Scotland in its next match.
More weightlifting action is slated for the second day of the games, with expectations being high for Sanjita Chanu Khumukcham’s performance in the women’s 53 kg category.
As expectations run sky high, Indians across the world will undoubtably be watching the shooters, boxers, shuttlers and wrestlersall of whom will be competing on Day 2, and have so far, been in brilliant form. Athletes like P. V. Sindhu, Jitu Rai, Saina Nehwal, M. C. Mary Kom, Sushil Kumar and Vinesh Phogat are considered to be serious contenders, sure to make India proud on the mega stage.