It is raining gold medals for India at the Commonwealth Games 2022! The latest achievers are from table tennis, Achanta Sharath Kamal and Sreeja Akula. The Indian paddlers prevailed over the Malaysian pair of Javen Choong and Karen Lyne to clinch the mixed doubles gold medal. The match took place in Birmingham on Sunday night.
The Indian duo overcome Choong and Lyne 11-4, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6 in the best-of-five games final. This is India’s first ever Commonwealth Games mixed doubles gold medal. This is also India’s second table tennis gold in Birmingham.
Indian men’s team, also led by Sharath Kamal had earlier clinched a gold medal in the team championship. This victory meant that Sharath is on course for a treble-gold medal run. Earlier in the evening, Sharath ousted England’s Paul Drinkhall in the men’s singles semifinal. The year 2022 could be the last Commonwealth Games for the 40-year-old Sharath Kamal and he would like to finish his campaign on a high note. Sharath will face Pitchford in Monday’s final. However, India’s G Sathiyan stumbled against England No. 1, Liam Pitchford 5-11, 11-4, 8-11, 9-11, 9-11. Sathiyan will hope to earn his maiden CWG medal by defeating Drinkhall in the bronze medal playoff. The only other time Sharath made it to the final, he returned with a gold in the 2006 edition in Melbourne.
Meanwhile, Telangana native Sreeja Akula shrugged aside the disappointment of losing the singles bronze medal with a powerful show in the mixed doubles final with her senior partner Sharath Kamal. Sreeja had put up a spirited show to reach the semifinal before multiple setbacks in the women’s singles event.
