GOLD COAST: On the first day of wrestling competition at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, all four of India’s grapplers delivered medals.
Winning gold were Sushil Kumar (75kg) and Rahul Aware (57kg), while Babita Kumari claimed silver (53kg) and Kiran Bishnoi bronze (76kg).
The other medalists of the day were shooter Tejaswini Sawant, who won silver in the finals of the women’s 50m rifle prone for her sixth Commonwealth Games medal following two golds in 2006 and a pair of silver and a bronze in 2010 while Seema Punia and Navjeet Dhillon opened India’s account in athletics, claiming sliver and bronze respectively in the women’s discus throw event.
With the two athletics medals, India’s medal tally increased to 31 yesterday.
Anjum Moudgil, the other Indian to reach the women’s 50m rifle prone finals, finished 16th with a total score of 602.2.
In the last event of the day, it was heartbreak for Indian women’s hockey team as they lost 0-1 to Australia in the crucial semi-final after conceding a lone goal in the third quarter.
India will now fight for bronze against England tomorrow.
Seema, who also won a silver four years ago at Glasgow, threw 60.41m in her first attempt that turned out be her best effort out of six while compatriot Navjeet, who was at fourth spot behind New Zealand’s Sositina Hakeai, saved the best for the last as she registered a throw of 57.43m in her sixth and last attempt to clinch bronze.
Australia’s Dani Stevens created a Games record with a 68.26m throw to clinch gold.
This is Seema’s fourth medal overall at the Commonwealth Games after winning silver, bronze and silver in 2006, 2010 and 2014 respectively.
Lifting India’s medal hopes was table tennis player Manika Batra, who won her quarter-final of the women’s singles.
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