Badminton News: India wins three golds at CWG to assert their badminton supremacy

Likewise, the Indian badminton team ruled over the arena as PV Sindhu led the charge and the team won all three titles on offer. The Hyderabadi shuttler wanted to recreate history, which did not favour her back in 2014 when she lost to Canada's player Michele Li in the semi-final and clinched a bronze. 

Similarly, in 2018 she lost to Saina Nehwal in the final. Sindhu eased through the first couple of rounds, but the challenges increased with every round. 

PV Sindhu

In the quarter-final, Sindhu faced world number 53, Goh Jin Wei, from Malaysia and almost gave in. The two-time world champion crumbled under Wei's ferocity as she won the first game 21-19. 

She almost panicked but knew better than letting it affect her game. She launched an attack and put immense pressure on the opponent. As expected, the second game went to Sindhu 21-14. 

In the decider, she led 11-7 and again 13-7 before the Malaysian resurfaced and almost cornered Sindhu as the score read 12-13. The competition remained neck to neck till 18-18 before Sindhu accelerated her game to nail a 21-18 finish. 

She played Yao Jia Ming of Singapore in the semi-final and prevailed 21-19, 21-17 in 46 minutes. Although it wasn't a comfortable win, Sindhu was always ahead by a point or two.

She then encountered Canadian veteran Li in the summit clash. Sindhu was focused and determined to achieve her goal. Despite an Achilles strain that plagued her halfway through, she claimed the gold 21-15, 21-13, after almost a decade. 

On August 8, 2022, Indian badminton was blessed with three gold medals in one day of the finals of the CWG, which further solidified India's global footing in the sport. 

Satwiksairaj Rankareddy and Chirag Shetty 

Second seeds Satwiksairaj Rankareddy and Chirag Shetty were slated to meet top seeds Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia. The Malaysian duo had played the seventh-ranked Indians and won all five matches. 

However, the 18th-ranked English pair of Sean Vendy and Ben Lane sabotaged the Malaysians' title bid by defeating them 19-21, 21-18, 21-4. The win could be partially attributed to that Soh Wooi Yin's knee injury. 

The Indians, who had won silver four years back, were swift and dynamic in the final match and the English duo lost 21-15, 21-13, which brought India the second gold. 

Lakshya Sen

Lakshya Sen could have encountered compatriot Kidambi Srikanth had it not been for world no 42 Ng Tze Yang, who defeated the Indian in three games. 

In the final match, Lakshya played long, short rallies and balanced his attack with a powerful defence that caught the Malaysian off-guard. He gave up in the second game and made another shot in the decider, but the 20-year-old Indian ace had complete control. 

In the third set, the Indian took leads of 9-5, 15-9 and 18-11 and pocketed one of the most memorable victories that brought home the third gold.

The mixed doubles saw Ashwini Ponappa and Sumeet Reddy lose the first game, while doubles players Gayatri and Treesa claimed a bronze medal.