Commonwealth Games – 2018: Boxers Mary Kom, Gaurav Solanki win gold

Gold Coast: Mary Kom gave India a rollicking start in Day 10 of the 2018 Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Gold Coast, Australia, by winning gold in the women’s 45-48kg boxing category.

India’s legendary boxer, who was making her CWG debut, beat Northern Ireland’s Kristina O’Hara in the final by an unanimous decision to add a CWG gold to her already illustrious medal cabinet. Mary Kom’s medal cabinet already includes an Olympic bronze from London 2012 and five amateur world championship titles. Mother-of-three Mary Kom, the subject of a Bollywood film in 2014, was the deserved victor, outboxing her Northern Ireland opponent.

Gaurav Solanki wins gold medal in 52 kg category on his debut 4-1 at CWG as he beat  Norther Ireland’s Brendan Irvine in a phenomenal bout.

Amit Panghal goes down in the final men’s 46-49 kg boxing against England’s Galal Yafai in Gold Coast but secures silver for India after a closely contested bout. The five judges were split 3:1 in their decision, with one of them ruling it as a tie.

Manish Kaushik settles for silver in 60kg category after a closely contested final against home favourite Harry Garside, who won with  a 3:2 split decision in his favour. This is India’s seventh medal in boxing.

50m Rifle 3 Positions

Sanjeev Rajput won the gold medal in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions event with a games record at the CWG on Saturday, swelling the Indian shooting team’s tally in the mega event. The 37-year-old Rajput shot 454.5 to bag the top prize after topping the qualification stage with 1180 points at the Belmont Shooting Centre. Chain Singh, the other Indian shooter in the fray, finished fifth with 419.1.

In qualification, Rajput scored 391 in kneeling, 399 in prone and 390 in standing, while Chain Singh, who was placed second, shot 389 398 and 379 for a cumulative score of 1166 . In prone Rajput shot three 100s and a 99. Canada’s Grzegorz Sych clinched the silver medal with 448.4, while Dean Bale of England bagged the bronze with 441.2.

Athletics

Indian athlete Neeraj Chopra wins a gold medal in Javelin after throwing the seasonal best at 86.7 metres.

Women’s Doubles TT

Indian paddlers Manika Batra and Mouma Das claimed the silver medal in women’s doubles category at the 21st Commonwealth Games on Friday. The Indian duo was outplayed 0-3 (5-11, 4-11, 5-11) by Feng Tianwei and Yu Mengyu of Singapore in the gold medal clash. Unforced errors and some aggressive game from Singapore kept India on the back foot throughout the match. Right from the start, Indian paddlers never looked in the contention as Manika and Mouma failed to match the skill and tenacity of the their opponents. In all the three games, Mouma and Manika were outclassed in every department.

Wrestling

Wrestler Bajrang Punia added another gold medal to the India tally at the CWG, when he overcame Kane Charig of Wales by Technical Superiority in the men’s 65kg category on Friday. Bajrang was head and shoulder above his Welsh opponent and a 10-0 point margin, achieved in the second round, decided the gold for India with minimum fuss. This was India’s 17th gold at CWG 2018.

This post was published on April 14, 2018 6:05 pm