India got on the medal tally on Day 2 of the Commonwealth Games and as expected, the weightlifters delivered in each of their four events, bagging one gold, two silvers and one bronze for the country.
Also very much as expected, not only was Mirabai Chanu successful in defending her gold, she put up a weightlifting masterclass for everyone to witness, lifting an entire 29kgs more than the second placed lifter in her category.
There was success also in the badminton mixed team event and the boxing arena but the one big upset was the defeat of the women's table-tennis team in the quarterfinals.
Missed the action on Saturday? Here's a wrap of all the big results:
Mirabai Masterclass in Weightlifting
As mentioned earlier, India won four medals in weightlifting on Saturday with Chanu winning the gold but two youngsters, Sanket Sargar and Bindyarani Devi announced their arrival on the big stage with impressive silvers. Gururaj Poojary followed his Gold Coast silver with a bronze in Birmingham.
Such was Mirabai's dominance in her event that she smashed the Commonwealth and CWG record in Snatch and also obliterated the Games record in Clean and Jerk. The Olympic silver medallist aggregated 201kg (88kg + 113kg ) to leave the arena stunned.
It was 21-year-old Sanket Sargar who opened India's account in Birmingham with a silver in the 55kg category. He lifted a total of 248kg (113kg+135kg) to finish just one kilogram behind Malaysia's Mohamad Aniq's 249kg (107kg+142kg).
Sargar had injured his elbow in the second lift of the Clean and Jerk event but he still attempted a third, which he could not complete. He appeared on the medal podium with a sling around his neck.
Gururaja, the silver medalist at Gold Coast 2018, finished third in 61kg to clinch India's first ever CWG medal in that weight category. He was placed fourth after the Snatch competition but lifted 151kg in his final Clean and Jerk attempt to to seal the bronze with a total lift of 269kg, edging out Canada's Youri Simard (119kg).
Bindyarani Devi completed the day with a silver in the 55kg category. The 23-year-old created a Games record by lifting 116kg in the Clean and Jerk after a personal best of 86kg in the Snatch section, totalling 202kg.
The gold medal went to Nigeria's Adijat Adenike Olarinoye, who lifted 203kg (92kg+111kg).
India's star paddler Manika Batra in action during the women's table tennis Group 2 match against Guyana at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
(Photo: PTI)
Defending Champs Knocked Out of Women's TT Team
India, led by star paddler Manika Batra, crashed out of the women's table tennis team event after losing 3-2 to Malaysia in the quarterfinals.
After recording an easy win in a group stage match earlier in the day, the team lost to Malaysia in the last-eight stage. Batra won one singles match and lost the other as the defending champions made a pre-mature exit from the tournament.
India's Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa celebrate after winning their mixed doubles badminton match against Sri Lankas at the Commonwealth Games.
(Photo: PTI)
India Unbeaten in Badminton Mixed Team Group
Already through to the quarterfinals, defending champions India continued their rampaging run as they beat Australia in their final group A match of mixed team badminton competition.
After blanking Pakistan 5-0 on the first day, India yet again were by far the better team on display on the second day as they outclassed Sri Lanka 5-0 first and then beat Australia to top the group on way to the quarterfinals.
India's Lovlina Borgohain during the women's 66-70kg (light middleweight) boxing match of the Commonwealth Games 2022.
(Photo: PTI)
Lovlina Enters Quarterfinals
Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain (70kg) cruised to the quarterfinals of the women's light middle weight category with an easy 5-0 win against Ariana Nicholson at the Commonwealth Games on Saturday.
Mohammad Hussamuddin (57kg), a bronze medallist in the last CWG in 2018, defeated young Amzolele Dyeyi of South Africa with the same margin in the men's featherweight (57kg) category to move to the pre-quarterfinals.
Indian women's hockey players celebrate after scoring a goal against Wales during the Pool A match at the Commonwealth Games.
(Photo: PTI)
Women's Hockey Team Record Second Win
Vandana Katariya scored a brace as the Indian women's hockey team defeated Wales 3-1 to record its second successive win in Pool A at the Commonwealth Games.
India scored all their three goals from penalty corners with Vandana finding the net twice, while Gurjit Kaur fired in a fierce drag-flick on Saturday.
Wales, on the other hand, utilised the only chance they got in the game with Xenna Hughes on the target.
India's Saurav Ghosal in action against Sri Lanka's Shamil Wakeel during the Men's Singles Round of 32 match of the Commonwealth Games 2022.
(Photo: PTI)
Anahat Knocked Out, Saurav & Joshna Win
14-year-old squash star Anahat Singh who opened her campaign with a commanding 3-0 win on Friday put up a tough fight and even managed to win a game against world number 19 Emily Whitlock but eventually lost the Round of 34 match 1-3.
Senior singles players Joshana Chinappa and Saurav Ghosal though advanced to the Round of 16 after registering identical 3-0 victories. Sunayna Sara Kuruvilla singles campaign though ended in three games while Ramit Tandon had to pull out of his match due to injury.
The men's marathon event, including Nitendta Rawat, at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
(Photo: PTI)
Nitendra Singh Rawat Finishes 12th in Marathon
India's Nitendra Singh Rawat finished 12th in the men's marathon race in the Commonwealth Games. The 35-year-old Rawat clocked 2 hour 19 minutes and 22 seconds in the race won by Uganda's Victor Kiplangat (2:10:55).
Rawat has a personal best of 2:16:05 he had clocked at the New Delhi Marathon in March. He was eight minutes 27 seconds behind the gold winner Tanzania's Alphonce Felix Simbu (2:12:29).
Srihari Finishes 7th in 100m Backstroke
Indian swimmer Srihari Nataraj finished seventh in the men's 100m backstroke in a tough field at the Commonwealth Games.
Chasing an elusive medal in CWG swimming events, the 21-year-old was fifth in the 50m split but was pushed further back in the tough first lane to finish with a timing of 54.31s on Saturday.
It was way below his personal best and national record timing of 53.77 that he clocked to seal his Tokyo Olympics quota last year. A repeat of the performance would have landed him a historic gold.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)