Nehwal wins badminton women's singles gold

Skybadminton
Top seed Saina Nehwal became the first women Indian shuttler to win a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games after a grueling three-game victory over Malaysian Mew Choo Wong in the individual badminton event here today. World number three Saina bounced back from a game down to battle past Wong 19-21

23-21 21-13 in a nerve-wrecking 70-minute title clash in the women's singles amid the continuous cheering from the vociferous crowd at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.

Aparna Popat won a silver in women's singles at Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games in 1998, while Prakash Padukone was the first Indian to win a gold at the 1978 Edmonton edition, followed by Syed Modi, the last shuttler to win a gold in the quadrennial event in 1982 Brisbane Games.

In the first game, Saina found it difficult to judge the shuttle and lost few points at the forecourt and nets to see the game slip out of her hands after she trailed 8-11 at the break.

But the Indian came back strongly in the second. Saina started playing more cross shots and kept pushing the shuttle at the back in the long rallies to come back from a 0-2 deficit to lead 14-10.

But Wong narrowed the gap and wrested the lead at 21-10 before the Indian closed the game with two more points to roar back into the contest.

In the decider, Saina employed a similar strategy and kept her rival away from the nets and used her deceptive drops and tosses to lead 11-7. She consolidated on her lead as Wong's game crumbled.

The Malaysian kept hitting the shuttle out of the court and hit the nets in the final point as Saina burst into tears and run into her mentor Pullela Gopichand's arms.

Commonwealth Games 2010: India beat England to second

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England were beaten to second place in the Commonwealth Games medals table by India at the very last opportunity as the 2010 Games in Delhi closed.

Saina Nehwal's badminton victory handed India their 38th gold medal, one more than England's tally of 37, as English badminton players lost three finals.

Australia topped the medals table at a canter, winning 74 gold medals.

Scotland's nine golds placed them 10th, Northern Ireland's three boxing titles earned them 13th, and Wales came 15th.

Both England and India had three more strong chances to add further gold medals to their tallies on Thursday, as the race for second place went down to the wire.

COMMONWEALTH MEDALS TABLE Gold medals and total medals won: 1. Australia 74 gold, 177 overall 2. India 38, 101 3. England 37, 142 4. Canada 26, 75 5. South Africa 12, 33 10. Scotland 9, 26 13. Northern Ireland 3, 10 10. Wales 2, 19

Once India had lost the men's hockey final - defeated 8-0 by Australia - the remaining gold medal possibilities for the two nations lay at the Delhi badminton court, where Malaysians played a vital role in shaping the medals table.

English duo Nathan Robertson and Jenny Wallwork lost to Malaysia's Koo Kien Keat and Chin Eei Hui in the mixed doubles final, before English number one male singles star, Rajiv Ouseph, was defeated in that event by Malaysian defending champion Lee Chong Wei.

India's Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Machimanda won the women's doubles badminton title, which drew the host nation level with England at 37 golds apiece, while Robertson and Anthony Clark missed another gold medal when they lost to Koo and Malaysian men's doubles partner Tan Boon Heong.

In the final action of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Nehwal overcame another Malaysian in her women's singles final - coming from behind to defeat Wong Mew Choo 19-21 23-21 21-13 - and, with that, India reached 38 gold medals and second place.

Had Nehwal lost her final, England would have taken second place by virtue of silver medals, of which the English had 59 to India's 27.

Third on the table is exactly where we wanted to be  Craig Hunter Team England chef de mission

"We thought that India, with home Games advantage, would be significantly ahead of us, and we're proud of the fact that we have got to the wire with them," said Craig Hunter, Team England's chef de mission.

"Our medal tally here is higher than it was in Melbourne 2006, although it's difficult to do like-by-like comparisons because sports are different.

"But there's no doubt our team has been enormously successful, and to be third on the table is exactly where we wanted to be.

"We have missed some of our stars who haven't come out, but I think that's not what it's about, it's about those who did come out here and achieve."

The hosts finish the 2010 Commonwealth Games with 101 medals overall while England garnered 141, 36 behind leaders Australia.

England's badminton players could only win silver medals

Scotland's competitors contributed 10 silver and seven bronze medals to their overall tally of 26, with Scottish gold-medal successes including the mixed doubles tennis, several shooting titles and David Millar's cycling time trial gold.

Northern Irish boxers Paddy Barnes, Paddy Gallacher and Eamonn O'Kane were solely responsible for their country's 13th-place finish after each won gold in the ring on Wednesday.

Their compatriots added three silver and four bronze medals to the tally, enough to propel Northern Ireland above Samoa, who also won three golds.

Northern Ireland would have placed 12th but for Chrystalleni Trikomiti, who moved Cyprus above them in the table with victory in rhythmic gymnastics' ribbon event on Thursday, the Cypriots' fourth gold of the Games.

Wales won a total of 19 medals, including two gold, seven silver and 10 bronze.

Welsh competitors won two Commonwealth titles, lawn bowler Robert Weale's gold medal on the penultimate day of the Games adding to Dai Greene's 400m hurdles win.

The Isle of Man placed 31st having won four medals - two silver and two bronze - tied with Tonga and Mauritius.

Sania Won GOLD in Commonwelth Badminton Today ! Sania won the women Single Final Badminton ..Hurrahhh

The country's competitors came out with flying colours and helped India finish a historic second in the final pecking order with more than 100 medals as the Commonwealth Games, that had a troubled build-up but proceeded smoothly thereafter, came to a close on Thursday.

A record medal haul of 38 gold, 27 silver and 36 bronze medals, the best-ever harvest for the country in the Games history, helped India climb to the record-high second position and end the multi-discipline event on a thumping note.

The main haul of these 101 medals came from the shooting range, wrestling mat, boxing ring, archery range and, to everyone's surprise, the track and field events, to provide the country with a reasonably strong sports foundation on which to build a more powerful edifice on.

The country had several highs and a number of sports heroes and heroines in the 12-day sports festival that commenced with a spectacular opening ceremony on October 3.

Badminton woe for England in Commonwealth 2010 games

Nathan Robertson and Jenny Wallwork had to settle for Commonwealth silver in the mixed doubles after a one-sided defeat to Malaysian duo Koo Kien Kiet and Chin Eei Hui.

The top seeds saw their gold medal hopes evaporate as they were beaten 22-20 21-12 in just 36 minutes at the Siri Fort Complex.

Kiet and Hui edged ahead towards the end of a tight first game and took the advantage in the match when Robertson smashed into the net at a crucial time.

The Malaysian pair then took full control in the second game and went on to round out victory by taking it 21-12.

"Unfortunately we couldn't keep up with them today. I have never seen them play like that," Wallwork said.

Ouseph beaten

England's Rajiv Ouseph also failed in his bid for singles badminton gold as he was comfortably defeated by Malaysia's world number one Chong Wei Lee.

After his early lead was pegged back, Ouseph never threatened to challenge the 27-year-old, who won the first game in just 12 minutes.

Lee continued his domination in the second game as his unstoppable form carried him to a 21-10 21-8 victory in only 26 minutes.

Ouseph said: "Obviously I knew going into the match he was going to be the favourite so I was just trying to enjoy it as much as possible which was a bit difficult as he was controlling most of it. But I am happy overall with my Games."

The final chance for England to secure a badminton gold on Thursday also slipped away as Robertson and Anthony Clark were beaten in the men's doubles final.

It was another Malaysian partnership, Kien Keat Koo and Boon Heong Tan, who emerged as 21-19 21-14 winners in 37 minutes.

Saina Nehwal then took the women's singles title and in the process helped India edge out England in the race for second spot in the overall medals table.

Jones wins silver

There was silver for Wales in the rhythmic gymnastics as Francesca Jones finished second behind Malaysian Elaine Koon in the hoop final.

"This will change my future in a good way. Right now I just have to concentrate on my next two routines. I will appreciate this win much more later," she said.

England's netball team easily saw off Jamaica 71-47 to clinch a bronze medal, with goal shooter Louisa Brownfield starring in the victory. New Zealand claimed the gold after beating rivals Australia in the final.

Elsewhere, Kenya continued their success in the athletics events as John Kelai and Irene Jerotich Kosgei took gold in the men's and women's marathons respectively.

Kelai took a comfortable victory in the men's race as he clocked a time of 2 hours 14 minutes 35 seconds to finish almost a minute ahead of Australia's Michael Shelley.

In the women's event, Kosgei came out on top in a battle with compatriot Irene Mogake to take victory in 2:34:32.

In the final of the men's hockey, the host nation were disappointed as world champions Australia thrashed India 8-0 to claim their fourth Commonwealth title in a row.

Wilson-Smith breaks Australia's badminton medal drought

South Australia's Kate Wilson-Smith paired with He Tian Tang to win Australia's first Commonwealth Games medal in Badminton in 12 years.
The pair claimed the Doubles Women bronze medal in a closely fought match between England's Jenny Wallwork and Gabby White last night at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.
It is the first medal Australia has won in the sport in the Commonwealth Games since they won two bronze at the Kuala Lumpur Games in 1998.
For Kate Wilson-Smith, it was a perfect pay off for her personal commitment of taking 14 months of leave-without-pay from her job to ensure she was in peak condition for the Games.
"I eat, I sleep, I train ... there's not a lot of luxuries in my life," Kate said of her training regime before she left for Delhi.
The bronze medal play off did not go without a little controversy, after an English player was shown a yellow card for arguing with the chair umpire about a disputed line call.
After losing the first set, Australia won the bronze in the final.
A late third set comeback from the English pair unable to be converted in a result.
The final score 21-23, 21-12, 21-16.