Commonwealth Games, badminton: Indian win gold in men's doubles event
India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty beat England's Ben Lane and Sean Vendy to claim gold in the doubles finals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The duo looked confident throughout as they pocketed a 21-15, 21-13 win. Notably, it is their maiden gold medal in the men's doubles category at CWG. India have now compiled six gold medals in badminton at the 2022 Games.
The duo of Satwiksairaj and Chirag have a career-high ranking of seven in BWF World Ranking. They are two-time bronze medallists at the Asia Team Championships (2016, 2020). They made peace with silver in men's doubles in 2018, besides winning gold in the mixed team event. Earlier this year, the pair was crowned winner in the men's team event at the Thomas Cup.
In R16, Satwiksairaj and Chirag breezed past Pakistan's Murad Ali- Muhammed Irfan Saeed Bhatti (21-8, 21-7). They hammered Australia's Jacob Schueler and Nathan Tang 21-9, 21-11 in the quarter-finals. The second-seeded duo downed Malaysia's Chan Peng Soon and Tan Kian Meng (21-6, 21-5) in the semis to advance further. And finally, they thumped England to garner gold in final.
PV Sindhu outclassed Canada's Michelle Li 21-15, 21-13 to claim gold in the women's singles finals. It was her maiden gold at the Games, having settled with silver in 2018 (Gold Coast). Meanwhile, rising sensation Lakshya Sen trounced Malaysia's Ng Tze Yong to snatch gold in the men's singles finals. He bounced back after trailing to overcome the world number 42 (19-21, 21-9, 21-16).
India are the third-most successful nation in badminton at CWG. To date, India have won 31 medals which include 10 gold, seven silver, and 14 bronze. England (111) and Malaysia (68) are the top two nations in terms of medal tallies. Saina Nehwal grabbed a gold medal in women's singles in the 2018 edition. Meanwhile, Parupalli Kashyap (men's singles) claimed gold in 2014.
