Indian badminton contingent missed out on the golden opportunity to defend their Commonwealth Games gold medal in Birmingham on Tuesday in the mixed team event as Malaysia proved to be just too good in the summit clash as they won the best of five final 3-1.
Apart from PV Sindhu in her women’s singles match, India lost the women’s doubles, men’s doubles and men’s singles matches. The mixed team had won the gold medal at the CWG 2018 at Gold Coast.
President of India, Draupadi Murmu congratulated the badminton team for their silver medal. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the team’s silver medal will go a long way in making the sport even more popular in the country.
“Badminton is among the most admired sports in India. The Silver medal in the CWG will go a long way in making the game even more popular and ensuring more people pursue it in the times to come,” PM Modi wrote on Twitter.
“Congratulations to the members of the Indian badminton team for winning the silver medal in the Mixed Team Event #CommonwealthGames. The skills, team work and fighting spirit displayed by them are remarkable. I convey my appreciation to all the players,” President Murmu wrote.
Malaysia took an early lead when the doubles pair of Teng Fong and Wooi Yik Soh kept the India duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty 21-18, 21-15. Sindhu led India’s comeback with a victory in straight sets against Jin Wei Goh 22-20, 21-17.
Kidambi Srikanth and Tze Yong played probably the best match of the final while the latter played the match of his life as 22-year-old prevailed over the veteran Indian shuttler in a three-setter, that went right down the wire. Yong won the game 21-19, 6-21, 21-16.
In the fourth game, the women’s pair of Treesa Jolly and G. Pullela weren’t good enough against Koong Le and Muralitharan Thinaah as they won by 21-18, 21-17.
The likes of Sindhu, Srikanth and Satwik-Chirag will now want to go one better in their respective singles and doubles matches.
