Birmingham| India has fared very well at the Commonwealth Games and has clinched 20 medals which include 6 gold medals, 7 silver medals, and 7 bronze medals. India is still tranked on the seventh spot and they will look to improve their position on the leaderboard as the multi-nation sporting event approaches its close. Keeping the hopes alive, top seeds Dipika Pallikal and Saurav Ghoshal have comfortably cruised into the quarter-finals with a clinical 11-8, 11-4 win over Wales. They defeated the pair of Emily Whitlock and Pater Creed on Thursday.
As of now, it seems like both Dipika Pallikal and Saurav Ghoshal complement each other's game pretty well as Pallikal's powerful forehand and Ghosal's skillful backhand make a strong case in their favor. The prowess in their games completely bamboozled Whitlock and Creed who had no answers.
The first game was intensely fought with teams locked at 6-6. With four players on the court, the referees also had a busy time adjudicating the calls for no let and stroke. With India trailing 3-4, a stroke was awarded to the opposition and Pallikal did not seem pleased about it. To everybody's surprise, Pallikal significantly improved on her backhand game and was even more lethal in the second game. From 2-2, the Indians raced to a 9-4 lead and Pallikal hit a forehand winner to complete the job. Delhi teenager Anahat, who also won a round in the women's singles, hit some crisp winners in the match. A tougher test awaits Anahat and Sunayna in the pre-quarterfinals as they take on Australia's Donna Loban and Rachael Grinham.
The experienced mixed doubles duo of Joshna Chinappa and Harinderpal Sandhu, however, suffered 8-11, 9-11 defeat in a round of 16 matches against Australia's Donna Lobban and Cameron Pilley. On Wednesday, Ghosal made history by becoming the first Indian to win a singles medal at CWG.
(Inputs from PTI)
