Indian paddlers Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manika Batra bagged the bronze medal in the mixed doubles table tennis competition at the 21st Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Gold Coast on Sunday.
The pair defeated compatriots Achanta Sharath Kamal and Mouma Das 11-6, 11-2, 11-4 in the play-off for the third position.
However, Achanta Sharath Kamal went on to win the bronze medal in the singles competition after defeating England’s Samuel Walker 11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 12-10.
On Saturday, Manika Batra became India's first women's singles paddler to win a gold, while the men's doubles pairs of Achanta Sharath Kamal and Gnanasekaran Sathiyan, and Harmeet Desai-Sanil Shankar Shetty bagged the silver and bronze medal respectively.
Manika outplayed Mengyu Yu of Singapore 4-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-2, 11-7) to clinch the gold medal while Sharath and Sathiyan lost in the final. The other Indian pair of Harmeet and Sanil defeated Singapore's Pang Yew En Koen and Poh Shao Feng Ethan in the bronze medal match.
In men's singles category, Sharath lost his semi-final match on Saturday and will play in bronze medal match on Sunday. The World Number 48 lost 0-4 (10-12, 9-11, 9-11, 7-11) to the World Number 26 Nigerian Quadri Arunain a gruelling semi-final at the Oxenford Studios.
After losing the close first game, Sharath failed to find the momentum throughout the contest as he went on to lose the other three games with a narrow margin.
The lone gold medal-winning paddler of Saturday was Manika. The 22-year-old Delhi girl outplayed Mengyu Yu of Singapore 4-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-2, 11-7) to clinch the gold medal.
I feel very proud to have won and even more prouder to have won for India. My aim was to win a gold medal for the country and I could do it.Manika Batra
Manika, who played a huge role in India's women's team gold medal win, also admitted that she had played the best table tennis at the Games.
have never played better. In the first game I was down 1-6. I said to myself I can recover and win and I did.Manika Batra
In the men's doubles event, Sharath and Sathiyan lost to England's Paul Drinkhall and Liam Pitchford 2-3 (5-11, 12-10, 11-9, 6-11, 8-11) to settle for silver.
The Indian pair committed several errors on length of serve and shots which resulted in their loss.
Harmeet and Sanil bagged the bronze medal in the men's doubles category. The Indian duo outclassed Singapore's Pang Yew En Koen and Poh Shao Feng Ethan 3-0 (11-5, 11-6, 12-10) at the Oxenford Studios.
Despite winning the first two games with ease, Harmeet and Sanil faced a stiff challenge in the third game however, the Indians once again overcame their opponents.
In mixed doubles semi-finals, Sharath and Mouma went down to Singapore's Gao Ning and Yu Mengyu 2-3 (8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 7-11).
Other pair, Sathiyan and Manika also lost 2-3 (8-11, 10-12, 11-5, 11-8, 13-15) to Pitchford and Ho Tin-Tin in the semi-finals.
(With inputs from IANS)
(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.)