India bagged its maiden gold in the badminton mixed team event, beating defending champion Malaysia 3-1 in the finals at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast on Monday.
That India was able to clinch the top honour without trying its best player, P.V. Sindhu, at any stage speaks volumes about the country's potential.
With Sindhu recuperating from a minor injury (as understood by Sportstar ), the onus was on Saina Nehwal to spearhead India's charge and the 2012 London Olympics bronze medallist didn't disappoint.
India had got off to a splendid start through Satwik Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa, who despite being pushed into a corner, nailed a brilliant 21-14, 15-21, 21-15 win over Peng Soon Chan and Liu Ying Goh.
This was before Kidambi Srikanth secured an outstanding win against Lee Chong Wei - an opponent he had never beaten before - in straight sets. The top-ranked Indian had Lee on the defensive before putting India ahead 2-0, by winning 21-17, 21-14.
Malaysia, however, pulled one back through V. Shen Goh and Wee Kiong Tan who beat Satwik and Chirag Chandrasekhar Shetty in the men’s doubles, 21-15, 22-20.
Soon after, Saina completed the required formalities. In Sonia Cheah, the Indian had a resilient opponent but the 28-year-old - despite losing the second set - pulled away 12 straight points in the final set to win 21-11, 19-21, 21-9.
Medals Tally
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