India saw an action packed Day 4 at the ongoing Commonwealth Games (CWG) at Gold Coast as the country added seven more medals to its tally bringing the total to seven gold, two silver and three bronze medals.
Day 4 saw a brilliant start with weightlifter Punam Yadav clinching gold in the women’s 69 kg final. A bronze medallist at the Glasglow CWG, Yadav pulled her personal best by lifting a combined effort of 122 kg (100 in snatch and 122 in clean and jerk).
India’s gold rush continued with teenage shooter Manu Bhaker striking gold in the women’s 10m air pistol event. 16-year-old Bhaker left people astounded with her brilliant performance as she broke the Commonwealth Games qualifying record. The country had high hopes from the young prodigy as she had bagged two gold medals at the 2018 ISSF World Cup in Mexico.
Congratulating the young shooter, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter saying "Nobody can forget the spectacular performance of Manu Bhaker, the youngest of the medal winners at the ISSF World Cup. Belonging to Haryana, she began shooting two years ago and in such a short time she has emerged as one of our most promising athletes."
Meanwhile, her counterpart Hina Sidhu made a stunning comeback to finish second.
Whilst the day mostly belonged to Indian women athletes, men too weren’t far behind. Ace shooter Ravi Kumar won bronze in 10m air rifle men's finals and lifter Vikas Thakur finished third in the men’s 94 kg weightlifting competition.
But the most pleasant surprise came later in the day when the Indian women’s table tennis team scripted history by winning the first ever yellow medal at the Commonwealth Games by ending the winning stride of four-time champions, Singapore. The women’s team had made its first appearance in the 2010 edition of the Games in New Delhi.
Indian women's Table Tennis team strikes gold at CWG Source: Phil Walter/Getty Images
In other noteworthy performances, five-time world champion M C Mary Kom confirmed a medal in the 48 kg category as she advanced to the semifinals of the boxing event. While ace shuttler Saina Nehwal led the badminton team to win their semifinal match against Singapore.
Meanwhile, in some more good news in track and field events, shot-putter Tejinder Singh advanced to the finals, while Mohammed Anas Yahiya cruised into the semis of the 400 m heat event.
