It was mother of all upsets as the Singapore women’s team had never lost in the Commonwealth Games since the sport was inducted way back in 2002.
Manika Batra inspired India to a historic gold medal with her stunning singles victories, fashioning an unthinkable 3-1 victory over four-time gold medallists Singapore in the final of the women’s team event at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.
World No. 58 Batra first scored the biggest of her career by humbling world number four and multiple Olympic medallist Feng Tianwei 3-2 before brushing aside 100th-ranked Yihan Zhou 3-0 to engineer a sensational win over the mighty Singapore side.
It was mother of all upsets as prior to this final, the Singapore women’s team had never lost in the Commonwealth Games since the sport was inducted in the program way back in 2002.
Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma will soon be awarded with the Dadasaheb Phalke Excellence Award for her successful movies as a producer. The award will be given by an organisation called Dadasaheb Phalke Foundation, a Mumbai-based organisation, which is different from the Government of India instituted Dadasaheb Phalke Award, awarded during National Awards ceremony held annually in New Delhi. The prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India’s highest cinematic honour.
Anushka’s work has been widely appreciated for experimenting with new stories and ideas as a film producer. Their company Clean Slate Films, made with her brother Karnesh Sharma, began their production journey with the hugely successful NH10.
At the age of 25, when she was at the peak of her career as a superstar, she became the youngest producer ever with a commitment to quality and desire to make entertaining cinema that pushed the content envelope.
Given that three home productions of Clean Slate Films have won applause from critics and movie buffs as well as become success stories, the Dadasaheb Phalke Foundation has decided to honour her contribution.
According to a report in Huffington Post, the foundation has been awarding artists for the last couple of years. In 2016, some of the recipients of awards were Manoj Bajpayee and Madhur Bhandarkar. Huma Qureshi and Shah Rukh Khan have also been awarded in the past.
Meanwhile, Anushka along with her brother Karnesh have also empowered young talent by giving them big-ticket breaks in the industry as directors, musicians, composers, technicians, etc by backing and believing raw talent.
Their first three productions: NH 10, Phillauri and Pari showed their maturity in dabbling with three different genres - thriller, romance and horror with a distinct and differential content pitch for audiences.
5. CWG 2018: Indian Men`s Table Tennis Team Wins Gold.
The Indian men’s table tennis team comfortably trounced Nigeria for the gold medal by winning 3-0 in the final. There were moments when Nigeria briefly threatened to swing the momentum away from India, but the Indian paddlers maintained their composure to wrap up the match. It was only yesterday when India’s women’s team won their first-ever gold in the Commonwealth Games. The men emulated the women with a emphatic win today. Earlier in the semifinals, India got the better of Singapore after they came back twice from behind to win the contest 3-2. Sharath Kamal winning both his matches, including the pivotal last match, made the difference in the end.
6. CWG 2018: India Win Badminton Team Gold For first time In CWG History
India`s mixed badminton team put up a commanding show to clinch its maiden gold medal, defeating three-time defending champions Malaysia 3-1 in the final of the event at the 21st Commonwealth Games (CWG) here on Monday.
Kidambi Srikanth, Saina Nehwal and the mixed doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa all won a match each to guide India power past Lee Chong Wei-spearheaded Malaysia which was winning gold since the 2006 CWG.
India`s gold medal match began on a strong note, with Satwik and Ashwini defeating Liu Ying Goh and Peng Soon Chan 21-14, 15-21, 21-15 in an hour and five minutes to make it 1-0. It was a crucial win considering Malaysia possess strong doubles pairs.
World No.2 Srikanth shone bright with a 21-17, 21-14 win over veteran Chong Wei in 43 minutes to hand India a 2-0 lead.
It was Srikanth`s first win in five matches against the world No.6 Malaysian, who has grabbed runners-up medals three times each in the Olympics and the World Championships.
India`s men`s doubles contest, the pair of Satwik and Chirag Shetty lost to Olympic silver medal-winning pair of V. Shem Goh and Tan Wee Kiong 15-21, 20-22 in 38 minutes as Malaysia kept the tie alive.
In the fourth match, world No.12 Saina Nehwal brought her experience to the fore as she got past world No.29 Soniia Cheah 21-11, 19-21, 21-9 in an hour and five minutes. The win sealed the issue for India, which failed to return with a medal in this category from the 2014 Glasgow CWG.
7. CWG 2018: Heena Sidhu Wins Gold In 25m Pistol Event.
Indian shooter Heena Sidhu won gold in the women`s 25 metre Pistol event at the 21st Commonwealth Games (CWG). Heena notched up a new CWG record of 38 points in the final to take the title in style Elena Galiabovitch of Australia scored 35 to take silver while Malaysia`s Alia Sazana Azahari got bronze with 26. Indian boxer Amit Panghal entered the semi-finals of the men`s light flyweight (49 kilogram) category. Amit defeated Aqeel Ahmed of Scotland 4:1 in the quarter-finals. Amit has now ensured a medal for India as those in the last fourth stage are assured of a place on the podium. Indian shooters Chain Singh and Gagan Narang failed to ensure any medals in the men`s 50m Rifle Prone event at the 21st Commonwealth Games (CWG). Chain finished fourth with a score of 204.8 points in the final round. Gagan was second from bottom in the eight-man final with 142.3. David Phelps of Wales won the gold medal with a new CWG record of 248.8. Neil Stirton of Scotland took silver with 247.7 while England`s Kenneth Parr got the bronze with 226.6. Earlier, Gagan finished the qualifying round in the third position with 617 points. Chain was in sixth place, having scored a total of 614.2. James Daly of Australia topped the standings in the qualification stage with 620.5 points. Ryan Taylor of New Zealand was second with 619.4. Gagan was consistent throughout the qualification round, starting off with 102.5 before shooting a superb 104.8 in his second attempt. India had an eventful fifth day at the Commonwealth Games winning seven medals in total including three gold medals. With more shooting events on Day 6, the Indian contingent would certainly be focussing on more golden success