Commonwealth Games 2018 updates, Day 3, Gold Coast

Cutting to Cairns Convention centre where basketball action is underway. The news is that India have lost their preliminary round game against England 54-100. Whatever little we have seen, India struggled with passing and missed a lot of chances up front. Despite the presence of NBA stars like Bhamra in their ranks, India largely were in trouble as neither could they take on the offensive not were they deft at defending. The English, on the other hand, produced stunning three-pointers and thwarted India with pin-point marking.  

Rahul Ragala seems to be in a hurry to get the gold around his neck. Stands on the podium much before he should be. But the usher understands his happiness and calmly asks him to step down as the other winners are waiting patiently in his flanks. Some funny moments there. But he and also we deserve those light moments after such a nailbiting final of the 85kg category. Finally, his name is announced and he steps up the podium. Gets his gold and maintains his composure while the Indian national anthem is played at the back. Well done Ragala. India get their fifth gold 

Now it is Ragala again. He fails in his try for 191 kg. The gold seems to be lost now. If Don Opeloge lifts 191 kg, Samoa will confirm gold. And he fails and India gets another gold. Ragala gets it India gets their fourth gold. 

Ragala comes and does it. Remains in lead after his succcessful attempt of 187 kg. Gold doesn't look any far now. Let's hope he completes his third successfully too. Competition Competition there from the Don. He is going to try 188kg, a kilo over Ragala's mark. Its not easy at all. Don completed the clean beautifully with his thigh muscles bulging out but it was the jerk that cost him the try. Which means, he cannot increase the weight and has also lost the fight for the gold medal. By the way, the Fiji lifter is trying his luck with 189kg in his final try. Fails miserably but you have to give to him for his effort. As far as Don is concerned, he would be praying that India's Ragala screws up the final lift. 

Now it is Malaysia's Muhamad Fazrul for his second attempt. He lifted 175 kg in his first and increased six kgs in second. Lifts it easily and is in medal contention now. Ragala is here now. Attempts 182kg in his first try and makes it a cakewalk. In lead clearly but as the competition goes further, this will get more intense and interesting. For the gold is at stake. The Malaysian is back for his final and has asked for an increase of 2 kgs to 183 kg. Could be a contender for the bronze here. But wait, no, Cameroon's Nkoh has bettered Malaysian's lift and has lifted 186kg. It's all happening at the Carrara Arena. 

We are nearing towards the end of the 85kg category competition in weightlifting. The lifters have reached the 176kg mark, which means the Indian lifter will be in action shortly. He would be attempting 185kg in his first attempt. As we talk, a Nigerian lifter will attempt 177 kg in his final attempt. After his last failed attempt, he got an injury or rather a cramp. It looked like the end of the road for him but this is what the atmosphere of the Games can do to you. He forgot about the injury and came out for his last try. Believe me, the motivation to do it for his country gave him the confidence to lift that extremely heavy barbell. He does it with perfection and kneels down soaking in the adulation given to him by the crowd. 

Meanwhile, the Don, Don Opeloge is here and lifts 180kg with ease. He is leading right now. Let's see how our Indian Ragala will respond. 

Whatever happened in Snatch has happened. India Ragala is the joint leader with Samoa's Don Opeloge at 181 kg but still you can't be sure if India will get their fourth gold. Its tough competition in clean and jerk. The closest competitors have opted for nearly the same weight and we could only hope and pray that Ragala gets his attempts right. The advantage though stays with him and Opeloge as they will be lifting the highest weight -- 185 kg -- and hopefully if they both don't screw up with attempts, the lifts will keep going up. And there will be a fierce fight for the gold and silver.     

Breaking news: Sajan Prakash finishes last (8th) in the 200m Butterfly final with a time of 159.05. 

Men's 85kg weightlifting event is going on, where Venkat Rahul Ragala is representing India. In Snatch, he has started well with a lift of 147kg. Let's keep fingers crossed. If he continues to perform like this, India could very well claim their second medal today. Ragala comes on again to lift 151kg but he disappoints. There is one more attempt left for him in Snatch. Ragala comes once again and this time he makes amends big time as he nicely lifts 151kg. He is back. Watch out for him.  

Dipika Pallikal, wife of cricketer Dinesh Karthik, has opted out of her Women's Classic Plate Quarterfinal 3 match against Canada's Samantha Cornett. However, the reason behind her decision is not known yet. The Canadian will now face Tamika Saxby. In another piece of bad news, Indian cyclist Manjeet Singh disappointed in the 15km Scratch Race qualifying after finishing 13th in Heat 2.

Boxing matches underway in Gold Coast. India's Sarita Devi is up against Barbados' Kimberly Gittens in her Round of 16 match. And she does a good job. She appears to have had the upper hand in the first round. In the second round, however, the Barbados boxer is making her way back into the match. But Sarita's defence is not giving her many opportunities. And Sarita gets a nice punch, and the referee is counting for the second time in the match. Wait, another punch from Sarita and again counting begins. Kimberly is clearly no match for Sarita. Second round gets over and the Barbados camp must be relieved. Sarita was all over her opponent. The third round gets underway. Can Sarita maintain her dominance? She just has to make sure she doesn't receive any strong punches and the match will hers. She has been defensive all through and rightly so. There is no need to be adventurous. The match gets over and everyone is waiting for the verdict. It's out. Unanimous decision. Sarita reaches the quarterfinals.    

In lawn bowls, India get good results. In Men's Triples Sectional Play Section A, Round 5, Match 2, the Indian team - comprising Chandan Kumar Singh, Sunil Bahadur and Dinesh Kumar - beats South Africa 18-17. In Women's Singles Sectional Play Section D, Round 5, Match 3, Pinki beats Niue's Pauline Blumsky 21-9. However, despite the win she fails to reach the quarters on account of previous losses. In Women's Fours Sectional Play Section B, Round 5, Match 2, Farzana Khan, Lovely Choubey, Rupa Rani Tirkey and Nayanmoni Saikia oversee a 24-9 win over Fiji. However, in Men's Pairs Sectional Play Section D, Round 5, Match 2, Krishna Xalxo and Alok Lakra lose 17-7 to Norfolk Island. 

At last good news for India and it comes from table tennis. Both men and women's teams reach the semifinals. Malaysia is at the receiving end in both the rubbers with a 3-0 loss. Manika Batra, Madhurika Patkar first win their singles matches and then the latter combines with Mouma Das to take India to the semis where they will play England on Sunday. As far the Indian men's team is concerned, Harmeet Desai and Sharath Achanta win their singles matches before Sathiyaan Gnanasekaran and Desai combine to reach the semis. They will now play Singapore on Monday.  

Another bad news for India: Yogeshwar Singh finished 14th in the gymnastics All Around final, totalling 75.600 after six rotations (11.400, 12.250, 12.600, 14.100, 13.000, 12.250). England's Nile Wilson won gold after aggregating 84.950, another  Englishman James Hall claimed silver with 83.975 and Cyprus' Marios Georgiou took the third place after totalling 83.750.

First real bad news comes for India. Weightlifter Vandna Gupta finishes fifth in the 63kg weightlifting category. She lifted 180kg in all (80 in Snatch and 100 in Clean and Jerk) and failed to leave any impression. Canada's Maude Charron won gold, England's Zoe Smith won silver and South Africa's Mona Pretorius won bronze. 

Mandeep Singh gets a difficult angle to score and he is not equal to the task. This could have sealed the game for India. 60 seconds remaining in the match. Heartbreak for India. Pakistan equalise through a penalty corner in the dying moments. They get three straight pentalty corners in the dying moments, the last of which brings the desired result for the Pakistanis. Al Mubashar does the job for Pakistan through a fierce dragflick. India 2 Pakistan 2. India, in all honesty, played a bad game and are rather lucky not to drop all points. Both teams get one point each. India now play Wales tomorrow in Pool B.  

Last five minutes in the match. India are still leading 2-1. Can they hold onto this lead till the end? Against all expectations, India have been defensive in this quarter. Pakistan have not been much aggressive either. 

The fourth and final quarter gets underway. The first five minutes have been fairly quiet but expect it to change anytime. Wait, Pakistan have been denied by Sreejesh just now. Great opportunity there for Pakistan but the Indian goalkeeper comes in their way. India are lucky not to concede. However, there are three straight penalty corners for Pakistan following Sreejesh's twin save. India again prove to be lucky and once again Sreejesh is at the centre of it all. India 2 Pakistan 1    

The third quarter also comes to a close. This has definitely been Pakistan's quarter. Irfan Jr's goal has brought them back in the game. With India leading 2-1, the final quarter is expected to be a cracker. Stay tuned. Don't go anywhere. We will be back shortly.    

Against the run of play, Pakistan pull one back. Irfan Junior scores an excellent field goal. India 2 Pakistan 1. Poor defending there by the Indians as the Pakistani team combined beautifully to set up Irfan who played his part to perfection.  

A little over three minutes in the third quarter and India win a penalty corner. They, however, are denied by Pakistan's defence. India really need to score one more to feel good about their chances in this match. 

India 2 Pakistan 0 after the end of the second quarter. Dilpreet Singh and Harmanpreet Singh have scored for India. The Pakistani team is slowly falling apart. They really need to pull their socks up if they are to challenge the Indians in the rest of the quarters.  

Pakistan earn back-to-back penalty corners and both times they fail to breach India's defences. One more penalty corner for Pakistan, their third in the match so far. Let's see how they fare this time. Excellent work there by goalkeeper Sreejesh, dives to his right and uses the stick to send the ball away and deny the Pakistanis. What an effort!

Akashdeep Singh and Faisal Qadir have been sent out for five minutes for unsportsmanly conduct. One wouldn't be surprised too much. India-Pakistan encounters do throw out such incidents. And shortly after their suspension, Mandeep almost scores a third for India. Pakistan goalkeeper Imran Butt stops brilliantly to deny the Indian.  

Almost five minutes into the second quarter, India earns another penalty corner. Another waste, this time Harmanpreet fails to execute properly. One more penalty corner for India. Can they convert this time? YES!! Harmanpreet makes amends and gets India's second goal. India 2 Pakistan 0. 

The first quarter comes to an end with India leading 1-0. India earned a penalty corner in the dying moments of the quarter but drag flicker Rupinder Pal Singh shot it wide. Overall, India will be happy with their performance. However, they can't afford to be complacent as there are still three more quarters to go.  

The opening goal of the match is yet to come. Pakistan have done well so far, even though India have had the upper hand. GOAL FOR INDIA. Excellent field goal from 18-year-old Dilpreet Singh. Remember, it's his first international game. What a start. But let's not forget SV Sunil, the orchestrator of this goal. 

The match finally gets underway. And India have started well with Manpreet Singh looking in top form. India have been unbeaten against Pakistan in their last seven matches. So it's not difficult to guess as to who is the favourite to take this contest. But it will be foolish to pick a winner before an India-Pakistan match. The following are the results from the last seven India-Pakistan matches. 

2016 Azlan Shah Cup: India 5 - 1 Pakistan

2016 Asian Champions Tropy (league match): India 3 - 2 Pakistan

2016 Asian Champions Trophy (Final): India 3 - 2 Pakistan

2017 Hockey World League Semifinals (pool): India 7 - 1 Pakistan

2017 Hockey World League Semifinals (5th-8th): India 6 - 1 Pakistan

2017 Asia Cup (pool): India 3 - 1 Pakistan

2017 Asia Cup (Super 4s): India 4 - 0 Pakistan

The India-Pakistan men's hockey match is going to start in a couple of minutes. This match is certainly one of the highlights of the 2018 Commonwealth Games.  

Going back to badminton, following their 3-0 win against Mauritius, India have set up a Mixed Team Semifinal 1 clash against Singapore, who overwhelmed hosts Australia 3-0 in their Mixed Team Quarterfinal 2.  The India-Singapore contest will be played tomorrow. 
 

Another good news for India. Swimmer Sajan Prakash has qualified for the men's 200m butterfly final at Optus Aquatic Centre. In Heat 2, he clocked 1:58.87. The final will be held later today at 3.07 pm IST. For the benefit of our readers, the 24-year-old from Kerala holds the most number of national records in long course and short course swimming.  

Cricket legend Virender Sehwag joins in the celebrations resulting from Sathish Kumar Sivalingam's gold in the 77kg weightlifting category earlier in the day. Sehwag has been following Commonwealth Games 2018 like an ardent fan. Read his tweet here. 

And another early morning gift for us, a golden start to the day. Congratulations #SathishSivalingam on our third #GC2018Weightlifting  Gold in Men's 77kg, lifting 317kg. Great effort despite the hamstring injury. His second successive gold after the one in Glasgow. #CWG2018 pic.twitter.com/18vDzPVLtr

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) April 7, 2018

Don't forget India are playing arch-rivals Pakistan in men's hockey today. The match is scheduled for a 10:02 am IST start. While Pakistan haven't been the same force in the last few years, the match maintains its appeal in both the countries. India have won their last seven matches against Pakistan. 

2016 Azlan Shah Cup: India 5 - 1 Pakistan

2016 Asian Champions Tropy (league match): India 3 - 2 Pakistan

2016 Asian Champions Trophy (Final): India 3 - 2 Pakistan

2017 Hockey World League Semifinals (pool): India 7 - 1 Pakistan

2017 Hockey World League Semifinals (5th-8th): India 6 - 1 Pakistan

2017 Asia Cup (pool): India 3 - 1 Pakistan

2017 Asia Cup (Super 4s): India 4 - 0 Pakistan

This second game is far more competitive but it's highly unlikely Kidambi Srikanth will be taken into the next game. He is too good and the Mauritius player can't hold a candle to him. To be honest, Srikanth is not even giving his 100 percent but is still dominating his rival with ease. Here it is. Srikanth wins the game 21-14 and tie is now India's with an unassailable 3-0 lead. 

Let's now switch to badminton where India is up against Mauritius in Mixed Team Quarterfinal 1. India are already 2-0 ahead thanks to wins from Satwik Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and Ashwini Ponappa-Sikki Reddy. Kidambi Srikanth is currently in action against Georges Julien Paul and if he wins the rubber will be India's. He has taken the first game 21-12. Things are looking good for the Indian team. 

What a moment of Sathish Kumar Sivalingam. He receives his medal with the national anthem playing in the background and he is emotional. So are we. His second gold medal in Commonwealth Games history. Remember, he had won gold in Glasgow as well in the same weight category. What a way to defend his gold medal. Total dominance. India is proud of the 25-year-old from Tamil Nadu. 

So here are the medal winners from the 77kg weightlifting category. India's Sathish Kumar Sivalingam (317kg in all) wins gold, while England's Jack Oliver (312kg in all) settles for silver. Aussie Francois Etoundi (305kg in all) runs away with the bronze medal. With this medal, India moves up to third with five medals ( 3 gold, one silver and one bronze) behind leaders Australia and England.    

Jack Oliver now fails at 171kg. He has one more attempt to make. The England player's failure means Sivalingam's gold medal chances further go up. Oliver comes again, going for 171kg. If he fails, India wins gold. He fails and India wins gold. Third gold for India, fifth medal overall. To make things even more glorious,  Sivalingam lifts 173kg successfully in his second attempt to further assert his dominance in this category. Interestingly, all five medals for India so far have come in weightlifting.  

One thing is clear that India won't go empty-handed from this event. However, it remains to be seen what the colour of the medal would be. Stay tuned, another excellent result is coming India's way.

Here comes Sivalingam. You beauty. He successfully lifts 169kg and goes past England's Jack Oliver. He now stands at 313. He was expected to lift 170kg though, he changed his mind at the last moment it appears. 

Jack Oliver is the only weightlifter so far to have taken his total past the 300kg mark. Presently he stands at 312kg. If Sivalingam successfully lifts 170kg in his first Clean and Jerk attempt, he will overtake Oliver. That's what Indian fans would want to see, no doubt about that.       

England's Jack Oliver, Sivalingam's biggest rival, lifts 167kg in his first Clean and Jerk attempt. Seems like his attempt will be reviewed. No, it has been given the go-ahead. Jack Oliver lifted 145kg in Snatch, so a little ahead of Sivalingam in the race as of now. 

Now it emerges Sathish Kumar Sivalingam will go for 170kg in his Clean and Jerk attempt. He was expected to lift 160kg but now he has gone up by 10kg. He is clearly going all out. Nothing less than a gold medal will do for him. 

For the benefit of our readers, Sathish Kumar Sivalingam had also won gold in the 77kg category in the last Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. So far the 25-year-old from Tamil Nadu looks good for another gold medal for India. 

Men's 77kg weightlifting event is going on. India's Sathish Kumar Sivalingam is in medal contention. He has lifted 144kg in Snatch - his best in three attempts - and how he performs in Clean and Jerk will decide what medal India gets.