Saturday saw India add 14 medals to their tally, increasing the count to 40 as wrestlers Ravi Dahiya, Vinesh Phogat, Naveen and paddler Bhavina Patel won gold medals.
Sunday will see India surely increase their medal tally again but how many of these will be gold will make for fantastic viewing for sports fans, as the penultimate day of the 2022 Commonwealth Games rolls along.
Hockey (Women’s)
Bronze medal match: India vs New Zealand 1.30 pm IST.
Can India bounce back from the heartbreak of Australia defeat to win bronze? Savita Punia & Co take on New Zealand in a quest to finish on the podium. If this match is anything like the World Cup one recently, should be a cracker.
Cricket
Another major T20 event, another final between India and Australia women’s cricket teams.
Gold medal match: India vs Australia *9.30 pm IST. (Corrected)
Boxing
Nikhat Zareen, Nitu Ghanghas, Amit Panghal and Sagar Ahlawat have all been brilliant from the get go. The final four to qualify out of the twelve-member contingent that trained in Ireland and participated in Birmingham stood out in their respective categories. They looked like the contenders for gold in their first bout at the CWG itself.
Table tennis
Achanta Sharath Kamal, 40, has played 11 matches across singles, doubles and mixed doubles and won all 11 so far since winning the team event gold. He will return to action in singles semifinal, and with Sreeja Akula in mixed doubles final and with G Sathiyan in men’ doubles final. Sreeja and Sathiyan are also in singles semifinal action. Can the trio continue their fine showing at the Games?
Badminton
Srikanth Kidambi and PV Sindhu were both pushed immensely in their quarterfinal matches but they came through in fine fighting style. For Srikanth, Sunday presents another huge test not just physically but emotionally. After the disappointing defeat against Ng Tze Yong in the mixed team final, can he bounce back? Ng is coming into the match on the back of another huge upset, as he sent top seed and world champion Loh Kean Yew packing. Lakshya Sen should start favourite against Jia Heng Jason Teh, the world No 87.
Gayatri-Treesa have had an easy path to the semifinal but now face their toughest challenge, and just like Srikanth, a repeat of the mixed team final tie. Top seeds Thinaah/Tan will be favourites but the pair of Indian teenagers have shown they can fight.
In the men’s doubles semifinal, Satwik-Chirag face the second Malaysian pair in a quest to return to the final. Chan Peng Soon and Tan Kian Meng are mixed doubles specialists on tour (ranked 8th & 11th respectively in the world alongside their partners) and won’t make it easy for the Indians.
Athletics
Athletics has already provided some wonderful moments for India, and the action on Sunday will start with the triple jump final where there are three Indian men in possible medal contention. Today would have been Neeraj Chopra day too, but he is absent and the onus will be on DP Manu or Rohit Yadav to deliver. Annu Rani is also in final action as are the two relay quartets.
Start lists for men’s & women’s javelin and men’s triple jump.
Squash
There have been a few disappointments in the squash courts for India at CWG, with the highs of 2018 not being met despite the historic singles bronze for Saurav Ghosal. But he will return to try and add another medal to the tally along with Dipika Pallikal Karthik in mixed doubles squash. The top seeds will look to shrug off the disappointment of a heavy loss in the semifinals against New Zealand.
Here’s a list of events chronologically as provided by Sports Authority of India media team:
With SAI inputs. Corrections will be added if needed.
Schedule screenshots via CWG 2022 Games results website.