Commonwealth Games - badminton - Men's Singles - Y.Z.A.Chen vs C.W.Lee - Quarter final - part 1/2

Commonwealth Games - badminton - Men's Singles - Y.Z.A.Chen vs C.W.Lee - Quarter final - part 2/2

Skybadminton

Lee Chong Wei Gold in Men's Single -Kien Keat nets a hat-trick of golds as Malaysia win in three finals

Skybadminton : Malaysians in Commonwealth Badminton ! Hit the SkY!

KOO Kien Keat turned up a super-charged performance to earn a historic breakthrough for Malaysia in Commonwealth Games badminton at the Siri Fort Sports Complex yesterday.

Kien Keat hit the jackpot in his maiden mixed doubles partnership with Chin Eei Hui and they nailed the only gold medal to elude by beating top seeds Nathan Robertson-Jenny Wallwork of England 22-20, 21-12 in 36 minutes.

Kien Keat returned to the court barely two hours later to bag the men’s doubles gold medal. Partnering Tan Boon Heong, they beat Robertson-Anthony Clark 21-19, 21-14.

The unseeded Kien Keat-Eei Hui had taken a comfortable 19-14 lead in the first game but allowed Robertson-Wallwork to grab six consecutive points.

Kien Keat covered well for the error-prone Eei Hui and he single-handedly won the next three points to take the tight first game.

There was some early resistance from Robertson-Wallwork in the second game but they were resigned to taking silver after Kien Keat-Eei Hui collected nine straight points to lead 17-8.

There were no display of emotional joy, knowing the gold was already in the bag, even after Robertson sent the shuttle wide at the baseline, to hand the match and the gold to Kien Keat-Eei Hui.

However, Kien Keat was aware of the significance of the mixed doubles triumph.

“The schedule has been taxing but we were only one match from the gold and I was all pumped up today,” he said.

“We were very tensed in the opening minutes and we conceded easy points.

“They were keeping me away from the net as it was our strong point.

“But we were patient and I am glad that it paid off.”

The three gold medals won by Kien Keat in Delhi, the other from the mixed team competition, made him the most successful Malaysian athlete at the 19th Commonwealth Games.

Eei Hui will be delighted to improve on the silver medal she earned in her outing in the mixed doubles at the 2002 Manchester Games with Chew Choon Eng, which was until yesterday the best Malaysia effort in the event.

Doubles coach Rexy Mainaky said they knew that the key to success for Kien Keat-Eei Hui was to pile on the pressure on Wallwork.

“She gets tense under attack and with her making mistakes, Robertson’s concentration was affected. It worked in our favour today,” he said.

Wallwork praised Kien Keat for his performance.

“We could not keep up with the pace. Koo is a fantastic player. He is very strong and creative.

He played the best I’ve seen him play,” she said.

THE GOLDEN PATHS

KOO KIEN KEAT-CHIN EEI HUI
(mixed doubles)

First round: Saheer Ramrakha-Foo Kune (Mri) 21-10, 21-16
Second round: Kieran Merrilees- Kirsty Gilmour (Sco) 21-7, 21-14
Third round: Toby Ng-Grace Gao (Can) 21-7, 21-16
Quarter-finals: Valiyaveetil Diju-Jwala Gutta (Ind) 21-13, 21-19
Semi-finals: Triyachart Chayut-Yao Lei (Sin) 19-21, 21-16, 21-18
Final: Nathan Robertson-Jenny Wallwork (Eng) 22-20, 21-12

LEE CHONG WEI (men’s singles)

First round: bye
Second round: Alex Pang (Can) 21-11, 21-10
Third round: Juma Muwowo (Zam) 21-9, 21-9
Quarter-finals: Ashton Chen (Sin) 21-13, 21-11
Semi-finals: Chetan Anand (Ind) 21- 11, 21-12;
Final: Rajiv Ouseph (Eng) 21-10, 21-8

KOO KIEN KEAT-TAN BOON HEONG
(men’s doubles)

First round: bye
Second round: Joe Morgan-James Phillips (Wal) 21-11, 21-18
Quarter-finals: Oliver Leydon-Davis- Henry Tam (Nzl) 21-16, 21-13
Semi-finals: Hendri Kurniawan Saputra- Hendra Wijaya (Sin) 21-11, 21-8
Final: Nathan Robertson-Anthony Clark (Eng) 21-19, 21-14

Commonwealth Games India and England Burst the Season 2010

New Delhi, Oct 14 (IANS) India won 100 medals at the Commownealth Games, its higest in the Games' history, and battle is on with England for the second spot in the overall medals table on the concluding of the biggest sporting event the country has hosted since the Asian Games in 1982.

A gold in badminton women's doubles from Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, a silver in men's hockey and two bronze from table tennis Thursday took the medal count to 100 and one more medal, possibly gold, is expected from Saina Nehwal in badminton singles before the curtains come down on the Games that started with a spectacular opening ceremony on Oct 3.

The Indian gold count at 1400 hours IST was 37. With 27 silver and 36 bronze the total was 100.

Hours before the end of the Games, India and England were in close race for the second spot on the medals table as both had 37 gold. England, however, have more silver -- 58 to India's 27 -- and 45 bronze.

While Jwala and Ashwini just took 39 minutes to pack off Singapore's top-seeded duo Yao Lei and Sari Shinta Mulia 21-16, 21-19, the men's hockey squad were thrashed by world champion Australia in the final of the event 0-8.

Jwala and Ashwini received a standing ovation from the packed hall at the Siri Fort Complex for their splendid showing in the finals.

However, the men's hockey team were no match to Australia who scored four goals in the first half and an equal number in the second.

The Indian men could not score a single goal despite the thousands of spectators -- led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself -- at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium cheering them on.

Singh was at the stadium at the start of the match and was seated in the VIP enclosure along with many hockey greats.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal and CWG Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi were also present at the venue.

The bronze came from Mouma Das and Poulomi Ghatak in the table tennis doubles. They beat Peri Campbell-Innes and Vivian Tan (AUS) 11-4, 11-7, 11-1 at the Yamuna Sports Complex on Thursday. The second bronze was won by Sharath Kamal in an all-Indian battle. He beat Soumyadeep Roy 11-8, 11-5, 12-10, 11-9.

The curtain comes down on the Games later Thursday with a laser show. While the opening ceremony showcased cultural diversity, the closing will highlight contemporary India.

Saina wins singles gold, India finish second

Women shuttlers led by singles title—favourite Saina Nehwal provided India with a golden double to pilot the country to a historic second—place finish in the Commonwealth Games that ended here today.

Saina rallied brilliantly from a first—game loss to put it across Mew Choo Wong of Malaysia 19—21 23—21 21—13 in the women’s singles final after Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa had captured the doubles crown.

The men’s hockey team crashed to a humiliating 0—8 defeat against world and defending champions Australia in the final, but the two—gold final flourish in badminton enabled India to rise to the second spot in the medals tally with 38 gold, 27 silver and 36 bronze medals.

England, ahead of India going into the last day of the Games, finished in third place with a total haul of 37—59—45 while Australia ended up in the top position with a huge heist of 74—54—48.

The push for the second spot on the concluding day was started by Jwala and Ashwini. The duo overwhelmed Singapore’s Sari Shanti Mulia and Yao Lei in straight games to become India’s first women’s doubles pair to win a gold medal in badminton.

The second—seeded Indian pair subdued their top—seeded rivals 21—16 21—19 by combining attack and defense in the right mixture in front of the packed crowd at the Siri Fort complex.

Then came Saina’s crucial gold—winning effort that pushed the country ahead of England, in their bitter fight for the runner—up position in the Games.

The hosts clinched another medal, a bronze, in table tennis when Poulomi Ghatak and Mouma Das prevailed in the women’s doubles bronze medal play—off against Australian duo Tan Zed Vivian and Peri Campbell—Innes.

But in men’s hockey gold medal—deciding clash, the Indian team suffered one of their worst—ever defeats in front of a huge crowd that included Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

High—flying India were brought down to earth rudely and ruthlessly by Australia who dished out a clinical display to spank the hosts in a totally lopsided summit clash.

The Indians, who had pipped England in a thrilling penalty shoot—out in the semis two days ago to make their maiden entry into the final, came up with a rather pathetic show when it mattered most and had to be content with the silver medal.

The capacity crowd at the national stadium were left heart—broken as the hosts conceded goals with embarrassing ease in the summit showdown.

The sweltering conditions had no effect on Australia’s performance as they proved too strong for the erstwhile Asian giants and completely outplayed the hosts with their power hockey.

Keywords: Saina Nehwal, Commonwealth Games