The Indian Men’s Table Tennis team followed their female counterpart and won the gold at the Commonwealth Games 2018 by defeating Nigeria by 3-0. The team on their way to the final upstaged defending champions Singapore.
Sharath Achanta, in the first match of the final, had a shaky start as he lost the first game by 4-11 to Bode Abiodun. But the most experienced player in the Indian side came back strongly to finish the match by 11-5, 11-4, 11-9. In the next match, 25-year old Sathiyan Gnanasekaran also had a similar start like Sharath. But he also revived quickly against Segun Toriola and won the match by 10-12, 11-3, 11-3, 11-4. The doubles match was comparatively easy for the Indian pair of Harmeet Desai and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran. The Nigerians were far away from their excellent form that they showed against England in the semifinal. The pair of Olajide Omotayo and Bode Abiodun were defeated by the Indians by a prolific margin of 11-8, 11-5, 11-3.
It is ‘go for gold’ for the Indian badminton stars. The Mixed team added another golden metal to the medal tally by defeating Malayasia by 3-1.
The mixed doubles match between Satwik Rankireddy-Ashwini Ponappa and Peng Soon Chan was a treat to watch for badminton fans. The match went either way many a times but it was the Indian pair that emerged victorious by 21-14, 15-21, 21-15. The second match was an easy affair for World No 2 Kidambi Srikanth. He was up against Chong Wee Li. Srikanth proved to be too good for Li as he snatched victory by 21-17, 21-14. However, Malayasia came back strongly as their doubles pair of V Shem Goh and Wee Kiong Tan defeated the young Indian pair of Satwik Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in straight games 21-15, 22-20. India led by 2-1. The onus fell on Indian star Saina Nehwal to restore the pride and she did it in style. Up against Sonnia Cheah , Saina showed her temperament and skill to win it by 21-19, 11-21, 21-9.
