India gets a three-on-three in Greco-Roman Wrestling
Indian Grapplers Ravinder Singh (60 kg), Sanjay (74 kg) and Anil Kumar (96 kg) earned their first-ever Commonwealth Games Gold medals at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex here today.
Ravinder defeated England's Christopher Terence Bosson 7-2 in the final to run away with the top honours. Ravinder was a picture of concentration against Bosson. In spite of finding himself in difficult situations twice in the bout, he stood firm and came out with flying colours. Right from the start, Ravinder was in his element as he defeated Sri Lanka's Assd Kumara 13-0 in his opening bout and then outclassed Nigerian Romeo Joseph 8-0 in the semifinals. While Bosson bagged the silver, the bronze in this category went to Romeo James.
In the 74 kg category, Sanjay earned India the gold medal beating South Africa's Brian Richard Addinall in the final. Sanjay displayed a gritty performance in front of the cheering crowd at the arena and defeated his English opponent 2-0 in the title decider. Against Addinall, Sanjay adopted a wait-and-watch policy and scored points whenever he got an opportunity. The Indian scored a point each in both the rounds to pocket his first Commonwealth Games gold. Sanjay got the better of Samoa's Laupule Ekeroma 3-0 and Perefegha Kiribein of Nigeria 2-0 in his earlier two bouts.
In the 96 kg category, India's Anil won Gold beating Aussie Fkiri Hassene. The third Gold came by outclassing Australia's Hassene Fkiri in the final of the 96 kg. Anil was by far the better wrestler on display and kept his calm to beat his Australian rival 6-0 in the aggressive final bout. Fkiri won the silver while South Africa's Hugues Kakoma Bella-Lufu pocketed the bronze in this category. Earlier, Anil had a contrasting opening two bouts as he overpowered Mark Montogomery of Northern Ireland 13-0 in his first match of the day but later had to work hard to clich a 3-1 victory over South African Hugues Kakoma in the semifinal.
Indian boxers pack a punch in Talkatora
Adoring home fans brought the house down by cheering their lungs out as Indian boxers opened their campaign in style with Amandeep Singh (49kg) and Manoj Kumar (64kg) advancing to the pre-quarterfinals, following thumping wins in their opening bouts of the Games here today.
An almost packed Talkatora Stadium cheered lustily for every blow Amandeep and Manoj landed making it a day to remember for the Indian boxing team.
While Commonwealth gold-medallist Amandeep defeated Kenya's Peter Warui 6-2 for the second successive time this year, Manoj was so dominant against Sirrera Leone's Daniel Lassoyo that the referee had to award the bout to the Indian midway through the second round when he was leading 17-1.
Amandeep will next face Rawanda's Haziza Matusi and Manoj will now square off against Gomotsang Gaasite of Botswana.
Boxing seems to be the most favourite sport and pulled in spectators on the very first day and the announcement of an Indian referee or judge got as big a cheer as an Indian boxer's arrival.
And the men who took the ring did not disappoint either by putting on a power-packed performance to ensure that the crowds would look forward to more when established stars such as Vijender Singh (75kg) and Akhil Kumar (56kg) start their campaigns in the next couple of days.
Amandeep was the first boxer to step in and against an opponent he had defeated as recently as in the Commonwealth Championships in March, the Indian was confidence personified.
Unruffled by Warui's often wild attack, Amandeep kept his cool and tactfully exploited the Kenyan's weak defence.
It was a narrow 2-1 lead in the opening three minutes but Amandeep ensured that he never let it slip with his strong left-hand blows in the next two rounds to notch up a comfortable win.
An almost packed Talkatora Stadium cheered lustily for every blow Amandeep and Manoj landed making it a day to remember for the Indian boxing team.
While Commonwealth gold-medallist Amandeep defeated Kenya's Peter Warui 6-2 for the second successive time this year, Manoj was so dominant against Sirrera Leone's Daniel Lassoyo that the referee had to award the bout to the Indian midway through the second round when he was leading 17-1.
Amandeep will next face Rawanda's Haziza Matusi and Manoj will now square off against Gomotsang Gaasite of Botswana.
Boxing seems to be the most favourite sport and pulled in spectators on the very first day and the announcement of an Indian referee or judge got as big a cheer as an Indian boxer's arrival.
And the men who took the ring did not disappoint either by putting on a power-packed performance to ensure that the crowds would look forward to more when established stars such as Vijender Singh (75kg) and Akhil Kumar (56kg) start their campaigns in the next couple of days.
Amandeep was the first boxer to step in and against an opponent he had defeated as recently as in the Commonwealth Championships in March, the Indian was confidence personified.
Unruffled by Warui's often wild attack, Amandeep kept his cool and tactfully exploited the Kenyan's weak defence.
It was a narrow 2-1 lead in the opening three minutes but Amandeep ensured that he never let it slip with his strong left-hand blows in the next two rounds to notch up a comfortable win.
"The crowd made it easy for me. It was amazing to fight in front of such supportive spectators," he added, when asked whether the fans contributed to his win.
If Amandeep was about tact and composure, Manoj took the attack to Lassoyo with a combination of right uppercuts and body blows.
If Amandeep was about tact and composure, Manoj took the attack to Lassoyo with a combination of right uppercuts and body blows.
Such was his dominance that Manoj was up 9-1 after the very first round. The Haryana-boxer, for whom it is a comeback of sorts after being in wilderness for more than two years due to a wrist injury, didn't let the tempo slip and kept up the pressure even in the second round.
"No opponent is weak or strong. I gave my best and got the result and I am glad to have done it," he said.
"I am thankful to the crowd for spurring me on. That's what you call home advantage, it was fantastic," he added.
"I am glad that uppercuts and body blows did the trick for Manoj and points were awarded for them besides the powerful left jabs he managed to connect. And of course the crowd, we have never fought on the first day of a competition with a crowd like this. It was very emotional out there," coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu said.
"No opponent is weak or strong. I gave my best and got the result and I am glad to have done it," he said.
"I am thankful to the crowd for spurring me on. That's what you call home advantage, it was fantastic," he added.
"I am glad that uppercuts and body blows did the trick for Manoj and points were awarded for them besides the powerful left jabs he managed to connect. And of course the crowd, we have never fought on the first day of a competition with a crowd like this. It was very emotional out there," coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu said.
Apart from the Indians, the loudest applause was reserved for the Pakistanis with 19-year-old Britain-based Haroon Iqbal (52kg), who is professional boxing star Amir Khan's younger brother, getting massive support from the home fans.
Iqbal defeated Sunday Elias of Tanzania amid vociferous cheers from the Indian fans. He was leading 12-1 when the referee awarded the bout to him after
Elias suffered a head injury.
"I have never fought in an atmosphere like this. It is simply out of the world. Thank you so much India. I wasn't expecting this," he said.
Iqbal defeated Sunday Elias of Tanzania amid vociferous cheers from the Indian fans. He was leading 12-1 when the referee awarded the bout to him after
Elias suffered a head injury.
"I have never fought in an atmosphere like this. It is simply out of the world. Thank you so much India. I wasn't expecting this," he said.
Singapore and England were the first teams to book places in the next round after 3-0 wins over Sri Lanka and Wales respectively.
In Group 1, top seed Singapore did not concede a set, running out comfortable winners against the Sri Lanka who will now face a winner-take-all tie against Guernsey on Wednesday for a place in the knockout stage. Guernsey claimed a solid 3-0 win over the Maldives.
In Group 2, England's superiority told against neighbours Wales although Daniel Reed was taken to five sets in the third match by Stephen Jenkins before prevailing 11-8, 11-5, 8-11, 9-11, 11-8.
Mauritius kept alive its chances of reaching the next round after beating Tanzania 3-0 to set up a tantalising decider against Wales on Wednesday.
In Group 5, Australia warmed up for their evening clash with South Africa by scoring a routine 3-0 win over Kiribati while Ghana took care of Malawi by the same score.
Over in Group 6 Canada notched their second win of the competition, beating Jamaica 3-0.
Somdev moves into second round
Top seed Somdev Devvarman progressed to the pre-quarterfinals of the Men's Singles Tennis event by defeating Bahamas’ Devin Mullings 6-4, 6-2 in the opening round today.
Mullings pulled a rabbit out of the hat when he raced to a 4-1 lead in the opening set but Somdev clawed his way back in the match by winning five games in a row. The Bahamian left-hander’s thunderous forehand left Somdev gasping. But before long, Mullings’ game succumbed to body cramps, preventing the big upset.
The tide turned in Somdev’s favour after Mullings took a medical time out in the seventh game of the first set and unforced errors started flowing from his racket. A long forehand gave Somdev the break point which the Indian converted into a stunning back-hand winner.
Mullings lost his rhythm but was not ready to give up. Fighting hard, he earned two breakpoints in the
sixth game. Somdev saved the first one with an ace and the second one with a forehand winner.
A second break of serve put Somdev ahead 5-2 and an easy hold pushed the Indian to second round.
sixth game. Somdev saved the first one with an ace and the second one with a forehand winner.
A second break of serve put Somdev ahead 5-2 and an easy hold pushed the Indian to second round.
Shooting is India's No. 1 sport: Gagan
After winning India's first gold medal at Delhi 2010, Gagan Narang today said shooting has achieved so much success in the recent past that it has become the number one sport in the country.
Gagan, along with Beijing Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra, today clinched the 10m air rifle gold and hours after the triumph at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, the unassuming shooter asserted that "Shooting is the number 1 sport in the country at the moment".
"If you go by medals shooters win in international competitions and their performance, then shooting is the number one," Gagan told PTI. "Unlike other sports, we cannot express our feelings in front of the media or fans, because shooting is like that," Gagan said.
"If you go by medals shooters win in international competitions and their performance, then shooting is the number one," Gagan told PTI. "Unlike other sports, we cannot express our feelings in front of the media or fans, because shooting is like that," Gagan said.
When on song, the Hyderabadi makes shooting look like child's play, but when asked if it comes easy to him, he
instantly nooded in disagreement. "It's never a cakewalk, it's all about hard work. It takes a lot of energy, and above all, we are all shooting at home, so the expectations are tremendous," Gagan said.
Asked if he is looking to emulate Samresh Jung's feat of winning five gold medals the last edition of the Games in Melbourne in 2006, Gagan said, "I am not thinking about that right now and just taking things one event at a time, one day at a time."
Earlier, the world record holder, after coming off a none-too-impressive season, shot a spectacular sequence of 99,
100, 100, 99, 100, 100 for a total of 598, while Bindra shot 100, 98 ,99, 100, 99, 99 to total 595 to give India the first gold medal in the quadrennial sporting extravaganza. Meanwhile, Bindra said majority of Indians would be glued to the television sets to watch the Games and not the Test match between India and Australia in Mohali, where the hosts prevailed in a nail-biter to eke out a narrow one-wicket win.
instantly nooded in disagreement. "It's never a cakewalk, it's all about hard work. It takes a lot of energy, and above all, we are all shooting at home, so the expectations are tremendous," Gagan said.
Asked if he is looking to emulate Samresh Jung's feat of winning five gold medals the last edition of the Games in Melbourne in 2006, Gagan said, "I am not thinking about that right now and just taking things one event at a time, one day at a time."
Earlier, the world record holder, after coming off a none-too-impressive season, shot a spectacular sequence of 99,
100, 100, 99, 100, 100 for a total of 598, while Bindra shot 100, 98 ,99, 100, 99, 99 to total 595 to give India the first gold medal in the quadrennial sporting extravaganza. Meanwhile, Bindra said majority of Indians would be glued to the television sets to watch the Games and not the Test match between India and Australia in Mohali, where the hosts prevailed in a nail-biter to eke out a narrow one-wicket win.
"I am very sure that they are watching the Commonwealth games," Bindra said. "I would want to live under the illusion that our gold medal win make headlines tomorrow," he said tongue-in-cheek, referring to the cricket match.
"It's always a great feeling to win gold. This one is special as this is first big medal at home," said Bindra, who
has not won a single major event since bagging gold in 10m air rifle event in Beijing two years ago.
has not won a single major event since bagging gold in 10m air rifle event in Beijing two years ago.
"There are huge expectations and a lot of pressure was there on us, it was not easy for me, for sure." Asked if the 2012 London Olympics is on his mind, Bindra replied in negative.
"I am not looking at the London Games right now. I am taking one event at a time, London is still two years to go,"
he said.
National coach Sunny Thomas credited Bindra and Gagan for the rise in popularity of shooting in India. "Thanks to these two guys," Thomas said pointing to the two shooters, before adding, "the profile of shooting has gone
up. The media has started following shooting because of Abhinav and Gagan." Fairly satisfied with the results on the first day of the shooting event, Thomas said, "We have done a good job. But more than medals, we are concerned about performance. If we perform well, medals will follow." On India's talent pool, Thomas said, "I am glad that we
have the youngest team in the world. In shooting 40-45 is not very old and we have got a very young team."
Asked if he was disappointed after Omkar Singh and Deepak Sharma failed to win the gold medal," the coach said, "We have to understand that they are not machines." Anisa Sayeed, who bagged the top prize in pairs 25m pistol for women with Rahi Sarnobat, said that they were confident of winning the gold. "After the half precision, we
knew we would win," she said.
he said.
National coach Sunny Thomas credited Bindra and Gagan for the rise in popularity of shooting in India. "Thanks to these two guys," Thomas said pointing to the two shooters, before adding, "the profile of shooting has gone
up. The media has started following shooting because of Abhinav and Gagan." Fairly satisfied with the results on the first day of the shooting event, Thomas said, "We have done a good job. But more than medals, we are concerned about performance. If we perform well, medals will follow." On India's talent pool, Thomas said, "I am glad that we
have the youngest team in the world. In shooting 40-45 is not very old and we have got a very young team."
Asked if he was disappointed after Omkar Singh and Deepak Sharma failed to win the gold medal," the coach said, "We have to understand that they are not machines." Anisa Sayeed, who bagged the top prize in pairs 25m pistol for women with Rahi Sarnobat, said that they were confident of winning the gold. "After the half precision, we
knew we would win," she said.
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