India at CWG 2022, Day 7 blog: Sudhir wins para powerlifting gold, long jump silver for Sreeshankar

Key updates of Indian athletes from Day 7:

• Para powerlifting: GOLD! India’s Sudhir takes the top spot in the men’s heavyweight event, in what was the last event of the day (late at night).
• Athletics: SILVER! M Sreeshankar wins a historic silver medal. Becomes the first Indian to win a silver medal in the men’s long jump event in CWG history.
• Boxing: Medals assured! Amit Panghal qualifies for semifinals of men’s 51kg event with a dominant performance. Jaismine follows suit by defeating the 2018 bronze medallist from New Zealand, 4-1 decision. Sagar reaches men’s +92kg semis and Rohit Tokas reaches 67kg semis to comfirm India’s seventh medal in boxing. 
• Men’s Hockey: India beat Wales 4-1 and reach semifinals as group toppers, to face South Africa next. England finish second, to face Australia next.
• Badminton: PV Sindhu, Srikanth Kidambi and Lakshya Sen reach round of 16 in individual events with comfortable wins. Ashwini-Sumeeth lose in XD opener, end of campaign.
• Athletics: Hima Das wins her 200m heat with a time of 23.42s and qualifies for semifinals.
• Table Tennis: Manika Batra begins her individual singles title defence with a straight-games win. Men’s doubles pairs of Sanil Shetty-Harmeet Desai and Sharath Kamal-G Sathiyan also advance, as do Sathiyan-Manika in mixed doubles.
• Squash: Top seeds Dipika/Saurav enter quarterfinals. Joshna/Harinder bow out in XD round of 16. Anahat/Sunayna lose in R16. Abhay/Velavan progress in doubles. Dipika/Joshna reach quarters in WD.

STAT: Sreeshankar it is the 2nd men’s long jump CWG medal for India in athletics. First silver in men’s long jump. Suresh Babu won bronze at 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton.

Para Powerlifting, men’s heavyweight final: GOLD! He has done it! Gold for Sudhir! He clinched it with his final attempt still left. He went for a personal best with his last lift but could not succeed, but a brilliant performance nonetheless.

Here’s some information on Sudhir via Sports Authority of India:

SUDHIR

DISCIPLINE: Para Powerlifting

Event: Men’s Heavyweight Over 72 Kg 

Date of Birth: 27th Oct 1994, 28 years 

Hometown: Village-Lath, Sonipat Haryana 

Training Base: Sonipat, Haryana

Coach:  Mr. Jitender Pal Singh

Background:  Sudhir is an Asian Bronze Medallist, born into a farmer’s family in Sonipat, Haryana. Due to a high fever, he contracted polio at the age of four. He didn’t let his disability get in the way of his determination. He had a lifelong interest in sports, which led to his interest in weight lifting. He began his sporting career in 2013 and clinched a gold medal in his first nationals in 2016. He made his international debut in 2018 at the Asian Para Games 2018 and clinched the bronze medal. Unfortunately, his father passed away the same day he won the medal. He graduated with a BA in Sanskrit from MDU Rohtak. He is currently working as a Senior Coach (Weightlifting) for the Government of Haryana.

He was also named “Strong Man of India” at the 17th Senior and 12th Junior National Para Powerlifting Championships in 2018.

Achievement:

• Silver Medal – World Cup, Dubai, 2018
• Bronze Medal - World Para Powerlifting Asia Oceania Open Championship 2022
• Bronze Medal - Asian Para Games, Jakarta,2018
• 6 times National Gold Medallist (2016 -2022)

Key Government Interventions:

• Financial assistance towards participation in international competitions and training.
• Financial assistance towards training, kit and equipment in National Camp.

Equipment Support: Nil

Foreign/ Support Staff: No

Days in National Coaching Camp: 08 Days (June 2022)

Para Powerlifting, men’s heavyweight final: Sudhir’s second attempt at 212kg is given the green light (majority 2 out of 3) and he goes back into the lead after briefly losing it.

Para Powerlifting, men’s heavyweight final: Scoring gets a little complicated. range of bodyweight categories will be combined to create the two lightweight and heavyweight divisions. A formula called the AH (Haleczko) formula is applied to the best successful lift of each athlete, providing a final point score which determines placings. The formula is applied with the intention of providing a fair comparison of performance between athletes of different sizes.

via CWG 2018 website

Para Powerlifting, men’s heavyweight final: Para powerlifting involves a bench press technique, with athletes taking position on a specially designed bench. Holding the bar at arm’s length with locked elbows, once given the ‘start’ signal, the athlete lowers the bar down to the chest, holds it motionless on the chest, then presses it upwards, evenly, until the elbows are locked again. At this point, the bar must be held still. Then athletes receive another signal to ‘rack’ the bar.

via CWG 2018 website

Para Powerlifting, men’s heavyweight final: Well well, India could have another gold medal tonight. Sudhir is at the top with a fine performance so far.

Athletics, men’s long jump final: Final attempt is a good one by Yahiya... but oh so close! He liked it, it’s an improvement but it just outside the 8.00m mark. 7.97m, his best of the night.

Para Powerlifting: The men’s heavyweight final featuring India’s Sudhir is underway. This is the last event involving an Indian for tonight.

Vinayakk: Ties – Except for the High Jump and Pole Vault, the second best performance of the athletes having the same best performances shall determine whether there has been a tie. Then, if necessary, the third best, and so on. If the athletes are still equal following the application of this Rule 25.22, it shall be determined to be a tie. Except in Vertical Jumps, in the case of a tie for any place, including first place, the tie shall remain.

Athletics, men’s long jump final: Final attempts to come! Sreeshankar is second. Can Yahiya too make a move up?

Athletics, men’s long jump final: Sreeshankar with a 8.08m! Back in medal contention.

Athletics, men’s long jump final: Four attempts done. Here we go. Can either Indian climb the rankings? – Yahiya: X, 7.65, 7.72, 7.74; Sreeshankar: 7.60, 7.84, 7.84, X

Squash, women’s doubles R16: Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal Karthik win in straight games. Nice and easy for the opener for the Indians. They come up with an 11-4, 11-4 win against Meagan Best and Amanda Haywood in Pallikal’s first appearance at the Games.

Athletics, men’s long jump final: Yahiya improves his mark by a bit but Sreeshankar’s mark is the same as his 2nd. He wasn’t pleased with something there. Sree should make top 8 but he doesn’t seem to be in the best rhythm. Left a bit on the board again. Yahiya on the brink of making the cut, nervy times for him. – Yahiya: X, 7.65, 7.72, Sreeshankar: 7.60, 7.84, 7.84

Boxing, men’s 67kg QF: Rohit Tokas takes it by a 5:0 UD. A look at the judges’ cards here and it’s a big win. India’s seventh medal in boxing confirmed!

Athletics, men’s long jump final: Two men have crossed 8.00+ so far. The South African National champion Jovan van VUUREN & Laquan NAIRN of Bahamas.

Boxing, men’s 67kg QF: Tokas is dictating the proceedings here, easily. R2 also in his favour. Looks far far superior technically. Often letting his guard down, smiling as if to invite Xavier to attack but in vain for the latter.

Badminton, men’s singles R32: Lakshya Sen with an extremely comfortable 21-4, 21-5 win to reach the round of 16. He rarely had to take his game up a notch and wasted little time in closing it out.

Boxing, men’s 67kg QF: Attacking from the word go from Tokas here. Barely lets Xavier land any either and also tops it up with a dominant finish. R1 in favour of the Indian and how!

Boxing, men’s 67kg QF: In action now, is Rohit Tokas in the men’s 67kg QF against Xavier MATA’AFA-IKINOFO.

Athletics, men’s long jump final: Improvements for both the Indian jumpers. Sreeshankar gets closer the the board this time... still not quite 8+. – Yahiya: X, 7.65, Sreeshankar: 7.60, 7.84

Squash, women’s doubles R16: Joshna Chinappa/Dipika Pallikal Karthik vs Meagan Best/Amanda Haywood. World Doubles Champions, 2014 gold and 2018 silver medallists from India take on the team from Barbados for a QF spot.

Badminton, men’s singles R32: Laskhya Sen is in action vs 45-year-old Vernon Smeed from St Helena. Takes the opening game 21-4. The Indian is playing well within himself.

Badminton, men’s singles R32: Time for India No 1 Lakshya Sen to begin his individual singles campaign.

Athletics, men’s long jump final: First to go among the Indians is Yahiya, he steps over on the board. Following, Sreeshankar takes off well ahead of the board and registers a 7.60 (+3.1 wind) – Yahiya: X, Sreeshankar: 7.60

Table Tennis, men’s doubles R32: Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan win in straight games – 11-2, 11-5, 11-6. Simply too much fire power and experience in that performance. They join the pair of Sanil Shetty and Harmeet Desai in the round of 16.

Table Tennis, men’s doubles R32: Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan take the second game too. They started a bit slowly in that one but found a way back.

Athletics, men’s long jump final: Time for one of the big events of the day. Two Indians are in the fray here – Murali Shreeshankar and Muhammed Anees Yahiya. Strap in, folks!

Table Tennis, men’s doubles R32: The experienced Indian pair of Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan are in action now and are up a game.

Squash, women’s doubles R16: The Australians win in straight games. The young Indian pair had its moments, with Anahat showing once again she has immense potential, but their opponents were tactically brilliant and didn’t let up.

Shahid Judge: Laura Massaro, the former World No 1 on commentary, explains that the Australians have been targeting Sunayna Kuruvilla on the forehand side, despite the other Indian being the inexperienced 14-year-old Anahat Singh. That’s a credit to the teenager though, who has been doing well so far in this match with that unpredictable, subtle, and devastating backhand.

Squash, women’s doubles R16: First game goes to the Aussies. Anahat with a couple of lovely backhands in that opener but the Australians using their experience to close it out.

Shahid Judge: Just to put into perspective the vast difference in experience between these two teams, Anahat Singh at 14 and Sunayna Kuruvilla at 23 have a combined age of 37 for the Indian team. Rachael Grinham alone is 45-years-old.

Squash, women’s doubles R16: Sunayna Kuruvilla/Anahat Singh vs Donna Lobban/Rachael Grinham This young Indian team against vs Australia for a spot in the quarterfinal. The combined Indian age is 37. Grinham is 45.

Preview: Sreeshankar, tougher and stronger, set to shine on Commonwealth Games debut

Table Tennis, men’s doubles R32: Easy does it for Sanil and Harmeet as they storm through the third game to complete a 11-6, 11-5, 11-1 victory and reach the round of 16.

Table Tennis, men’s doubles R32: Sanil and Harmeet win the second game 11-5, with the former showing some good aggressive play. This should be over quickly.

Vinayakk: Badminton – Lakshya Sen plays Vernon Smeed of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha and his last match on the BWF profile page is from Gold Coast 2018.

Table Tennis, men’s doubles R32: First game in the bag for Sanil and Harmeet , they take it 11-6. The pair from Cyprus struggling to contain errors.

Table Tennis, men’s doubles R32: India’s Sanil Shetty and Harmeet Desai are in action now.

Table Tennis Women’s Singles - R32 Manika Batra 4-0 Ching Nam Fu: Manika Batra wins in straight games! A comfortable outing for the defending champ – 11-5, 11-2, 11-7, 11-6. The Canadian youngster struggled to hang in there in rallies and Batra was clinical when she needed to be.

Table Tennis Women’s Singles - R32: A little while earlier, Reeth Tennison also won her round of 32 match. Defeated Charlotte Bardsley of England 4-1 (11-8 10-12 11-6 12-10 11-3) - Via SAI.

Table Tennis Women’s Singles - R32 Manika Batra 3-0 Ching Nam Fu: Not much of a test for Manika in the first couple of games, but the third was closer. The Indian has a 4-1 lead in the fourth too. Time out by Fu.

Badminton, Women’s Singles R32, Mahoor Shahzad 0 (retd)-1 Aakarshi Kashyap: The Pakistani shuttler is unable to continue Aakarshi wins 22-20, 8-1 (retd).

Table Tennis Women’s Singles - R32 Manika Batra 1-0 Ching Nam Fu: Batra off to a quick start, taking the opener 11-5

Badminton, Women’s Singles R32, Mahoor Shahzad 0-1 Aakarshi Kashyap: Mahoor is down in the second game. Looks like a left ankle issue. She needs treatment. Doesn’t look good for her. Looks like in a world pain.

Table Tennis Women’s Singles - R32 Manika Batra vs Ching Nam Fu: Time for the defending champion to begin her singles campaign.

Badminton, Women’s Singles R32, Mahoor Shahzad vs Aakarshi Kashyap: Well that was a rollercoaster opening game. First Mahoor took a lead, then Aakarshi went on a run of points, then Mahoo who had 2 game points but the Indian saves those & takes the opening game 22-20.

Table Tennis Women’s Singles - R32 Sreeja Akula vs Karen Lyne: A little bit of revenge for Akula as she defeats Malaysia’s Lyne, who has part of the team that defeated India in the women’s team QF. A hard-fought win too. These two were on the other side of the table in the doubles tie.

Continuing the theme of semifinal watch... this to decide who faces India next in cricket.

Badminton, Women’s Singles R32, Mahoor Shahzad vs Aakarshi Kashyap: For the record, wouldn’t read too much into the world ranking gulf because Pakistan shuttlers simply don’t play enough on the tour. Early evidence thatt she will make Aakarshi work for her points. But from 5-7 down, the Indian is now 12-8 up.

Badminton, Women’s Singles R32, Mahoor Shahzad vs Aakarshi Kashyap: Well, that’s a solid start from Mahoor. The Pakistani flagbearer at Tokyo 2020 with a nice start, 5-3.

Badminton, Women’s Singles R32, Mahoor Shahzad vs Aakarshi Kashyap: Time for some baddy action on show court. World No 165 from Pakistan vs world No 57 from India. First meeting.

Hockey, men’s Pool B: England score their 11th, but that will be all. Indian men finish top of Pool B, England will face Australia in the semifinals. India to face (effectively) winner of NZ vs SA.

Effectively, India’s goal margins in the other three matches came in handy. Every goal matters. (Especially as long as hockey doesn’t figure out a way to have simultaneous finish to groups or remove GD from the equation).

Hockey, men’s Pool B: Well, there’s another twist. Canada go route one and score into the empty net as England are playing without a goalkeeper. Canada 2-10 England, hosts need 6 more now with 4:20 left.

Hockey, men’s Pool B: England lead 9-1 with 6:51 to go. They are getting two PCs a minute now. Roughly even if they convert 50%, they should be fine. As I type that, England are 10-1 up with 5:30 to go.

Badminton, women’s singles: Coming up shortly, Aakarshi Kashyap on show court.

Hockey, men’s Pool B: Canada are losing players to injuries too. England are leading 8-1 with 10 mins to go. Need 7 more goals.

Para Powerlifting, Men’s lightweight FINAL: Parmjeet Singh doesn’t get a clean lift with any of his three attempts at 165kg.

Hockey, men’s Pool B: Couple of late goals in that quarter. England lead 7-1 at the end of Q3. The hosts need 8 goals in Q4 without conceding, have taken their goalkeeper off against 10-men Canada.

Hockey, men’s Pool B: “I was pleased. Now the work really begins,” says Graham Reid. “Wales a really good side . I told the side we need to be at our best. We threw two points away against England, so pleased to score many goals because GD will come into play. Who knows what England do, anything can happen in this sport. Pretty happy, now just have to do it in the next two games.”

(Via Sony Sports)

Table Tennis, mixed doubles R32, Sharath Kamal/Sreeja Akula 3-0 Owen Cathcart/Sophie Earley: The Northern Ireland team saved a few match points, but the Indians were just too strong, taking it 11-7, 11-8, 11-9.

Table Tennis, mixed doubles R32, Sharath Kamal/Sreeja Akula 2-0 Owen Cathcart/Sophie Earley: Little pressure from the Northern Irish in this game, but not enough to trouble the Indians who looked unbothered. They won it 11-8

TableTennis, mixed doubles R32, Sharath Kamal/Sreeja Akula vs Owen Cathcart/Sophie Earley: The two singles national champions from India combine to take on the pair form Northern Ireland for a spot in the Round of 16. Few loose points here and there, but Sharath Kamal and Akula never lost control of that game, winning 11-7

Hockey: Well, wow, there’s something you don’t see often in hockey. Canada’s Balraj Panesar sees RED (literally & figuratively). At half time England lead 4-1 but they have an entire half against 10-men Canada. 👀

Para Table tennis update: Bhavina Patel and Sonal Patel (women’s singles classes 3-5) have topped their respective groups. Raj Alagar (men’s singles classes 3-5) also made it to top 2 with a clutch win earlier today. Baby Sahana Ravi’s campaign is over in women’s singles classes 6-10.

Para Powerlifting, Men’s lightweight FINAL: Parmjeet Singh in action here.

Hockey update: It’s 1-1 in Canada vs England. Think it is fair to say now that 14 goals might be tough from here.

Table tennis, mixed doubles R32, Sathiyan/Manika Batra 3-0 Mick Crea/Laura Sinon: “Utterly convincing” says the commentator. The top seeds in TT mixed doubles win 11-1, 11-3, 11-1

Table tennis, mixed doubles R32, Sathiyan/Manika Batra 2-0 Mick Crea/Laura Sinon: The Indians, bronze medallists from Gold Coast 2018, are racing away with this. They win the second game 11-3.

Table tennis, mixed doubles R32, Sathiyan/Manika Batra 1-0 Mick Crea/Laura Sinon: Very convincing opening game from the Indains, winning it 11-1.

Table tennis, mixed doubles R32, Sathiyan/Manika Batra vs Mick Crea/Laura Sinon: The top seeds from India take on the team from Seychelles for a spot in the Round of 16

Para Powerlifting (Women’s lightweight) India’s Sakina Khatun and Manpreet Kaur finish 4th and 5th in this event.

Tabe tennis: Sathiyan/Manika time. Updates coming up shortly on table tennis and para table tennis.

Dilip: In the end, a comfortable win for India and they will most likely finish on top of the pool. England need to beat Canada by a whopping 15 goals to pip India to the top spot.

The two best teams are progressing. Given what we saw in the Asia Cup with India & Pakistan, let’s wait for the full time in ENG-CAN.

Boxing: Men’s +92kg QF, Keddy Evans Agnes vs Sagar: MEDAL ASSURED FOR SAGAR! Agnes was left with barely any energy in R3, was given a standing count again and just about managed to escape an RSC decision, updates Samreen. Sagar wins comfortably with a 5-0 UD, assuring India of yet another medal in boxing.

Hockey, men’s Pool B, India 4-1 Wales, FULL TIME: A passage into semifinals confirmed for Indian men too. Clinical would be the word for it. India improve their goal difference to 22. England need to win by 14-0 to progress on goals scored as toppers.

Boxing: Men’s +92kg QF, Keddy Evans Agnes vs Sagar: Even faster from Sagar. Agnes also gets a standing count in R2. All five judges in favour this time. Agnes got a standing count too. Sagar just far too better technically.

Hockey, men’s Pool B, India 4-1 Wales in Q4: A series of PCs for India there... meanwhile in boxing, Sagar is bossing it now.

Boxing: Men’s +92kg QF, Keddy Evans Agnes vs Sagar: The thing with these heavyweight bouts is that one punch could be hugely decisive. Sagar has a good first round, 4-1 on board, but Agnes will still fancy this.

Hockey, men’s Pool B, India 4-1 Wales in Q4: A PC for India with 65 seconds left.

Boxing: Now in action is Sagar in the men’s +92kg QF against Keddy Evans AGNES of Seychelles

Hockey, men’s Pool B, India 4-1 Wales in Q4: Correction: That was goal for Wales, of course. Pathak has had to make another save. Have India switched off a bit here? Need to keep the GD as high as possible.

Hockey, men’s Pool B, India 4-1 Wales in Q4: GOAL WALES! Furlong has been scoring for fun from PCs, and he does it again this time thanks to a battery switch. A late deflection takes it past Pathak, no chance to save that.

Hockey, men’s Pool B, India 4-0 Wales in Q4: Pathak having to make a couple of saves to keep his clean sheet. As things stand, England have to win by 15 or 16 goals (tbc) to top the pool.

Hockey, men’s Pool B, India 4-0 Wales in Q4: India lose their review, PC for Wales. Solid save by Pathak with his foot. India’s defence has been solid today except for a couple of brief worries.

Hockey, men’s Pool B, India 4-0 Wales in Q4: GOAL INDIA! Gurjant finds the back of the net but the umpire rules it out due to dangerous play. But India immediately refer and the video umpire gives India the goal. Smart touch by Gurjant off a lifting ball from Shamsher.

Squash mixed doubles R16, Dipika Pallikal Karthik/Saurav Ghosal 2-0 Emily Whitlock/Peter Creed: Top seeds turn the screw in that second game to beat the Welsh and go through to quarterfinals, winning 11-8, 11-4.

Hockey, men’s Pool B, India 3-0 Wales end of Q3: Wales will need a miracle now to get anything out of this. India have put on an efficient display... so far.

Squash mixed doubles R16, Dipika Pallikal Karthik/Saurav Ghosal 1-0 Emily Whitlock/Peter Creed: Rather cagey first game that the Welsh finish with tame unforced errors. India takes it 11-8

Hockey, men’s Pool B, India 3-0 Wales in Q3: GOAL INDIA! Hattrick-preet Singh. The decision stands, and Harman scores his 2nd hat-trick of the tournament, with a perfect stroke.

Hockey, men’s Pool B, India 2-0 Wales in Q3: Oh, penalty stroke given to India. Superb deflection by Lalit and the ball is heading in and is off the defender’s body. But was the keeper covering it? Umpire referral this one.

Hockey, men’s Pool B, India 2-0 Wales in Q3: Just as I say that, Lalit dances down the left byline, superb stick skills to find Akashdeep. It’s a PC. Varun takes this... another PC given.

Hockey, men’s Pool B, India 2-0 Wales in Q3: India are on the defence a fair bit now but holding structure well so far. Not too many attacking forays. They don’t need to but would love a good lead here.

Hockey, men’s Pool B, India 2-0 Wales in Q3: Lalit cheekily wins India another PC to get the third quarter underway. Harmanpreet is denied a hattrick by the first rusher.

Squash – Shahid Judge: It’s the World Doubles Champions in action now, as top seeds Saurav Ghosal and Dipika Pallikal Karthik take on the Welsh pair of Emily Whitlock and Peter Creed. The Indians are the favourites given their recent run at the Worlds and Ghosal is expected to have a spring in his step after, just yesterday, becoming the first and only Indian ever to win a Commonwealth Games medal in singles, when he beat former World No 1 James Willstrop to win bronze.

India-Wales in hockey, India-Wales in squash too. Our first sighting of Dipika Pallikal Karthik (on court) this Games. Saurav-Dipika will have a tough test against the Welsh here. Whitlock, if you recall, is the one who defeated Anahat in singles.

Hockey, men’ Pool B, India 2-0 Wales end of Q2: CHANCE! Big one. Carson opens himself into space, clever change of direction and is 1v1 against Pathak. But he passes instead of taking a shot. Wide of goal. Half time hooter soon after (and Amit Rohidas spotted, that is good to see).

Lawn bowls: Mridul BORGOHAIN had a fine last night to keep his quarterfinals hopes alive but has lost in this final sectional match against Ross David and won’t be progressing.

Hockey, men’ Pool B, India 2-0 Wales in Q2: India need to now avoid everything they did wrong against England. Keep their discipline, manage the game. A green card for Mandeep as I say that.

Hockey, men’ Pool B, India 2-0 Wales in Q2: GOAL INDIA! Harmanpreet again. Another PC. This time back to power, back to the left of the goalie, back on the scoresheet.

Hockey, men’ Pool B, India 1-0 Wales in Q2: GOAL INDIA! Harmanpreet at it again! He has been nailing the high drag flicks to the left of goalkeepers and here India switch it up. He is on the second battery and places this past the second goalkeeper right.

Hockey, men’ Pool B, India 0-0 Wales in Q2: Manpreet & Co have a PC. Wales are down to 10 for now. Harman on the pitch for this. Wales review but no advice possible, India get the PC and the Welsh keep review. Status Quo.

Hockey, men’ Pool B, India 0-0 Wales in Q2: Manpreet takes a blow on his face off the opponent’s elbow and shockingly there is not a card shown. Viren Rasquinha on air sounds stunned. Very similar to the foul that got 10 mins suspension for Varun vs England.

Hockey, men’ Pool B, India 0-0 Wales in Q1: A cagey first quarter comes to an end. India created more chances but the Welsh defence has been strong today. Draw will be enough for India to progress to semis but they will want more. Amit Rohidas walked off the field with bleeding finger, not sure how serious. Pathak in goal for Q2.

Squash, Mixed doubles: Shahid Judge – A game of two halves in that second game. Australia raced to an 8-0 lead, then Chinappa/Sandhu won the next six points in a row. The traded points and then Australia was up 10-7. India saved two match points and looked ready to bounce back and take this to a deciding game. But fChinappa, who seemed to have shaken-off her rather sluggish movement hit a straight-forward forehand into the tine - a rather tame end to a thrilling game. That’s the end of the Birmingham Games for Sandhu, but Chinappa is still alive in the competition. She and Dipika Pallikal Karthik are the top seeds in the women’s doubles event. The 35-year-old veteran, whom the commentators have claimed has been looking rather fatigued in her movement, will have to push hard to go far in the event.

Hockey, men’ Pool B, India 0-0 Wales in Q1: A quick free hit sees James Carson in a one-on-one with PR Sreejesh. The Indian keeper does well to close down the angle and pull off a good save. A reminder for India that this won’t be easy. Mind you, we have spoken about India topping the group but a Wales win here and England win later will see India get knocked out. So, yes, this is still very much a tight one.

Squash, mixed doubles R16, Joshna Chinappa/Harinder Pal Sandhu 0-2 Donna Lobban/Cameron Pilley: Australia through to the quarterfinal. Much more tight second game, but defending champions Lobban/Pilley win the match 11-8, 11-9

Hockey, men’ Pool B, India 0-0 Wales in Q1: India have their first PC after some good work by Mandeep and Shamsher. Wales use their referral and the replay shows that the ball bounced off the back of Mandeep’s stick. The Indians eventually do get a PC. The second choice in place, they force a dave.

Boxing, Women’s Lightweight QF Troy Garton vs Jaismine: MEDAL ASSURED FOR JAISMINE! Just a brief blip in the 2nd round, but the tall Indian recovers to get the third round (and the bout overall) by a 4-1 margin.

Dilip Unnikrishnan: The Indian men’s team take on Wales in their final Pool B match. India have a 11-goal lead over England and a handsome (if possible) victory over Wales should be enough to ensure England cannot catch them. Topping the Pool is crucial as the second-placed team will play Australia in the semifinal. Its’s 0-0 after 5 mins in this one.

Shahid Judge: Mixed doubles – A lot of the action was centered along the left side of the court - towards Chinappa’s backhand and Lobban’s (a southpaw) forehand. The Australian put in a strong performance to help her team race to a 10-4 lead. They threatened to run away with the game but for the late surge by the Indians. But it came a bit too late and Australian took the opener 11-4.

Squash, men’s doubles: The previous match update for R32.

Boxing, Women’s Lightweight QF Troy Garton vs Jaismine: Getting tighter. The veteran from NZ gets the nod of 2 judges for the 2nd round. The Indian still has three judges on her side.

Squash, men’s doubles R32: Velavan Senthilkumar/Abhay Singh 2-0 Luca Reich/Joe Chapman: And that’s that. The Indians run away with this match 11-3, 11-1.

Boxing, Women’s Lightweight QF Troy Garton vs Jaismine: Good start for the Indian, who has a significant height advantage in this bout. 10-9s across the board.

Boxing: In action now is Jaismine against 2018 CWG Bronze medallist, Troy Garton of New Zealand in the women’s 60kg QF.

Squash, mixed doubles round of 16: Joshna Chinappa/Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu vs Donna Lobban/Cameron Pilley The veteran team from India takes on the defending champions from Australia in this round of 16 match.

Hockey, men’ Pool B, India vs Wales: Not long left for India vs Wales in Pool B. A win for Manpreet Singh & Co is imperative to finish top of the pool. Wales won’t be easy to beat. England face Canada after this and should India win this, will know what margin they need to beat the North Americans by to top.

Squash men’s doubles R32, Velavan Senthilkumar/Abhay Singh vs Luca Reich/Joe Chapman: Another set of Indian youngsters (relatively speaking, they are another generation compared to Anahat) in this one, they go up against the team from the British Virgin Islands in the first round men’s doubles tie

Away from Birmingham, in Cali, a young Indian athlete is making a strong mark. Watch out for Rupal.

Shahid Judge: Pretty straight forward in the second game. Anahat Singh’s backhand and Sunayna Kuruvilla’s forward lunges to retrieve wreak havoc and help the Indians race through to the second round with a 11-9, 11-4 win over Sri Lanka.

Squash women’s doubles R32, Sunayna Kuruvilla/Anahat Singh 2-0 Yeheni Kuruppu/Chanithma Sinaly: After a tough first game, the Indians race through the second to end the match with a 11-9, 11-4 win over Sri Lanka. Into the round of 16.

Squash women’s doubles R32, Sunayna Kuruvilla/Anahat Singh 1-0 Yeheni Kuruppu/Chanithma Sinaly: The young Indian team kept their cool despite trailing through most of the game to eventually take it 11-9

Para table tennis: Raj Alagar, with Bhavina Patel on coaching duties, wins his Group match in 4 games to seal his progress to semifinal in a straight shootout for 2nd spot.

Squash women’s doubles R32, IND-SL: Sunayna Kuruvilla/Anahat Singh vs Yeheni Kuruppu/Chanithma Sinaly is off to close start. Looks like the Sri Lankan pair want to test out the youngster early on. 5-5. We will keep an eye on that one. Over to check what’s happening in para table tennis.

Squash, women’s double R32: Anahat Singh, the youngest athlete in India’s CWG contingent this time, and Sunayna Sara Kuruvilla are about to begin their match.

Lawn bowls: India’s Mridul Borgohain has lost his men’s singles round 5 match against Jersey’s Ross Davis.

Vinayakk: A 4th medal is assured in boxing for India. And this one just a tad bit more special. Amit Panghal, after the heartbreak in Tokyo, will be on podium in Birmingham. He still would want to climb higher. Good solid bout from him. “I had a bad day at the Olympics and all my preparation went to waste. I just hope nothing like that happens again [at CWG],” Panghal told Hindustan Times. He is getting closer to his target.

Badminton, mixed doubles R32: A tough loss for India’s Ashwini Ponappa and B Sumeeth Reddy, they go down 18-21, 16-21 to England’s Jessica Pugh and Callum Hemming. The Indians fought with great intensity but errors in crucial moments cost them. Credit to Pugh and Hemming though, they rode on the home support and upped their game when it mattered most.

Boxing, men’s 51kg QF: MEDAL ASSURED! Amit Panghal managed to nail all five cards this time, assuring a medal and a spot in the semis with a 5-0 UD against Mulligan! The experience of the Indian shining though.

Vinayakk: Jessica Pugh asking the fans to cheer them on. They know they are in a scrap here. Ashwini-Sumeeth have kept at it but trail 10-11 at the mid-game interval. Could really use a cushion here because the longer it remains close, the better the chances for the English.

Boxing, men’s 51kg QF: 4:1 in favour of the Indian again in R2. One judge is particularly not THAT impressed. The last minute again, is where Panghal seems to come alive. Trusts his defence in the first few minutes Mulligan was attacking.

Boxing, men’s 51kg QF: Nice and easy from Panghal, who takes some time to size his opponent up and then spends the last minute landing the left-arms. 4:1 in favour of the Indian in R1.

Para table tennis: India’s Sonalben Manubhai Patel wins her final Group 2 singles match 8-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-5 Bhavina Patel will take on Sue Bailey in the semis while Sonalben will face Ifechukwude Ikpeoyi.

Boxing, men’s 51kg QF: Crucial match coming up. In action now is 2018 CWG silver medallist Amit Panghal. He will face Scotland’s Lennon Mulligan. A win will, of course, assure a medal.

Badminton, mixed doubles R32: Ashwini and Sumeeth lose a tight first game18-21. They fought hard and levelled things up at 18-all but the English pair wins three straight points to close it out. It was an intense first game and the Indians will be determined to force a decider.

Vinayakk: B Sumeeth Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa are the only Indian members of the Indian contingent not seeded in the individual events. They are taking on England’s Callum Hemming and Jessica Pugh in the mixed doubles opening round, who are seeded sixth. Will be a good win if they can pull it off. It’s all tight in the opening game.

Badminton, men’s singles R32: A comfortable win for Srikanth Kidambi too. He seemed to play within himself but that was enough too. He joins PV Sindhu in the round of 16 of the individual events.

Rhythmic Gymnastics: India’s Bavleen Kaur is set to compete in the Individual Qualification Sub-Division 1.

Badminton, men’s singles R32: Srikanth Kidambi, up against Uganda’s Daniel Wanagaliya, wins the first game 21-9. Some good rallies and Daniel tried to keep pace but the Indian is looking solid.

Para table tennis: Bhavina Patel wins in straight games to reach the semifinals, but defeat for Baby Sahana Ravi.

Badminton and Lawn Bowls: Three matches featuring Indian athletes are about to begin. Srikanth Kidambi is in the men’s singles round of 32, Ashwini Ponnappa and B Sumeeth Reddy are in the mixed doubles round of 32, and Mridul Borgohain is in lawn bowls men’s singles round 5.

Para table tennis: Bhavina Patel and Baby Sahana are in action at the moment.

Athletics, women’s hammer throw qualifying: Manju Bala advances to the final with a throw of 59.68m. Sarita Singh misses out. The cut-off was 68.00m but Manju managed to qualify because she finished in the top 12.

Table tennis, mixed doubles R64: It wasn’t to be for Reeth Tennison and Sanil Shetty. They mounted a spirited fightback after losing the first two games, but the Malaysians regrouped themselves to clinch the decider.

Vinayakk: The husband-wife duo of Sanil Shetty and Reeth Tennison are in the decider against Malaysia. 4-5 in the fifth game.

Table tennis, mixed doubles R64: We’re going to a decider! Reeth and Sanil showing great character to take the fourth game comfortably. The Indians have the momentum and the Malaysians are under the pump.

Badminton, women’s singles R32: PV Sindhu is through to the round of 16 with a 21-4, 21-11 win in 21 minutes. A couple of lapses in concentration here and there but a dominant performance nonetheless from India’s star shuttler. Wonderful smile at the end too.

Athletics, women’s hammer throw qualifying: Sarita registers a foul throw with her second attempt and drops outside the top 12 to put her qualification hopes in danger. Manju also registers a foul throw and is 11th.

Athletics, women’s hammer throw qualifying: Here’s a look at the standings after the first attempts. India’s Manju Bala and Sarita Singh will need to up their game in order to qualify.

Table tennis, mixed doubles R64: Solid fightback from Reeth and Sanil. After dropping the first two games, the Indians edge out their Malaysian opponents in the third.

Badminton, women’s singles R32: Sindhu wins the first game 21-4. As the commentator said, she’s in cruise control.

Badminton, women’s singles R32: It’s PV Sindhu time! India’s star shuttler begins her singles campaign with a clash against Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq from Maldives.

Athletics, women’s 200m Heat 2: Hima Das started a bit slowly but went on to win her 200m heat comfortably with a time of 23.42s. She’s through to the semifinals.

Athletics, women’s 200m Heat 2: Hima Das is set to be in action shortly. She has won medals at the Asian Games and will be determined to make a mark at the Commonwealth Games too.

Table tennis, mixed doubles R64: The Malaysians take the first game 11-6. Reeth and Sanil will need to pick up pace quickly.

Athletics, women’s hammer throw qualifying: The qualifying mark has been set at 68m. Manju’s PB is 64.88m while Sarita’s is 65.25m.

Athletics, women’s hammer throw qualifying: Sarita Singh gets a distance of 57.48m with her first throw.

Table tennis, mixed doubles R64: India’s Reeth Tennison and Sanil Shetty will be taking on Malaysia’s Ai Xin Tee and Qi Shen Wong.

Athletics, women’s hammer throw qualifying: India’s Sarita Singh and Manju Bala will be in action now.

Table tennis: At 2.35 pm, Reeth Tennison and Sanil Shetty will compete in the mixed doubles round of 64 against Malaysia.

Athletics: First up for India today will be Sarita Singh and Manju Bala in the women’s hammer throw qualifying round at 2.30 pm.

Hello and welcome to live updates of Indian athletes from day seven of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

India won a total of five medals on day six in Birmingham, with Tulika Maan winning a silver in Judo. Saurav Ghosal won a historic bronze in squash, Tejaswin Shankar won a historic bronze in high jump, and Lovepreet Singh and Gurdeep Singh continued the good work in weightlifting.

On day seven, the individual events will start in badminton and table tennis. The men’s hockey team will play a crucial Pool B match against Wales, Murali Sreeshankar and Muhammed Anees Yahiya will compete in the long jump final, boxers will eye semifinal spots, apart from a lot more action across disciplines.

India at CWG 2022, Day 7 schedule: Sreeshankar in long jump final, Panghal & Co in boxing QFs

Key updates of Indian athletes on Day 6: 

• Weightlifting: BRONZE MEDALS! Lovepreet Singh finishes third in men’s 109kg with a total lift of 355kg. Gurdeep Singh finishes third in the men’s 109+kg event.
• Athletics: BRONZE! Tejaswin Shankar wins India’s first-ever high jump medal at CWG. He made it to the CWG squad late, but wins India’s first track & field medal in the Birmingham Games.
• Squash: BRONZE! Saurav Ghosal becomes the first-ever Indian to win a singles medal at the CWG in squash. The 35-year-old beats Gold Coast 2018 gold medallist James Willstrop in straight games.
• Judo: SILVER! Tulika Maan, seeded second, finishes second in the women’s +78 kg event. India’s third judo medal.
• Boxing: MEDALS ASSURED! Nitu reaches SF with a dominant performance that leads to an abandoned bout. Hussamuddin was put through the wringer by Tryagain Morning (Yes) but comes through 4-1. Second CWG medal assured for him. World champion Nikhat Zareen wins by uninamous decision and storms into the semis.
• Boxing: A major upset as Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain loses to Rosie Eccles of Wales in the women’s 70kg quarterfinals. Ashish Kumar also bows out in the quarters after a thrilling fight.
• Hockey: Indian women pull off a late win to enter the semifinals, Siami scoring a late winner. To face Australia in SFs, in a repeat of the famous Tokyo Olympics quarterfinal.
• Hockey: Manpreet Singh & Co win 8-0 against Canada to go top of their Pool on goal difference, level on points with England.
• Cricket: India beat Barbados by 100 runs to reach semis. Asked to bat first in the Group A game, India made 162/4. They then restricted Barbados to 62/8 with Renuka Singh Thakur picking a brilliant 4/10.

Screenshots in the blog via CWG 2022 Games results website & Sony LIV