Commonwealth Games 2018: India's gold rush continues on Day 4; top updates

Weightlifter Vikas Thakur wins a bronze after Punam Yadav's gold; in shooting Manu Bhaker, Heena Sidhu and Ravi Kumar bag gold, silver and bronze, respectively

India's show on Day 4 at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018 had much to cheer for Indian fans, especially in the weightlifting and shooting events. While weightlifter Punam Yadav won a gold medal in the women’s event, Vikas Thakur bagged a bronze in men’s. In shooting, 16-year-old Manu Bhaker and Heena Sidhu won gold and silver medals, respectively, in the women’s 10-metre air pistol, Ravi Kumar won a bronze in men’s event.

Vikas bagged his bronze in 94kg weightlifting, while Ravi got the medal in the 10-metre air rifle event at Gold Coast, Australia. India's total medals tally reached 11, with 6 Gold, 2 Silver and 3 Bronze. While Australia is at the top with a total of 67 medals, England is placed second with 40.

Earlier in the day, India continued to bag gold medals on Day 4 of the Commonwealth Games 2018, with weightlifter Punam Yadav and 16-year-old shooter Manu Bhaker winning a gold medal each. Yadav bagged hers in women's 69kg weightlifting, while Bhaker's came in 10-metre air pistol event. Shooter Heena Sidhu won her silver medal in the 10-m air pistol event at the 21st Commonwealth Games being held in Gold Coast, Australia. 

In boxing, five-time world champion M C Mary Kom confirmed a medal (48 kg category) for India as she advanced to the semifinals of the Commonwealth Games 2018 boxing event. This is Mary Kom's first appearance in CWG. She will face Sri Lanka's Anusha Dilrukshi in the semifinal on April 11.

Here are the top 10 developments so far on Day 4 of the Commonwealth Games 2018:

 
1. Shooter Bhaker wins gold, 6th one for India at Commonwealth Games 2018, Heena takes silver: India's Manu Bhaker, 16, and Heena Sidhu took a gold and silver medal, respectively, in the Women's 10m Air Pistol event at the 21st Commonwealth Games on Sunday. Bhaker produced a spectacular performance, setting a new CWG record with a total of 240.9 points in the final round. Sidhu registered 234 to make it 1-2 for India at the top of the podium. Australia's Elena Galiabovitch took bronze with 214.9 to bring some cheer for the hosts.
 
2. Weightlifter Punam Yadav wins India's fifth gold at the Commonwealth Games 2018: Indian weighlifters continued to dominate the competition at the 21st Commonwealth Games, as Punam Yadav won gold in the women's 69 kg category on Sunday. Yadav lifted a total of 222 kg which included 100 kg in snatch and 122 kg in clean and jerk. England's Sarah Davies took silver with 217 kg, while Apolonia Vaivai of Fiji lifted 216 kg for the bronze. This the fifth gold medal for India at this year's CWG. Mirabai Chanu, Sanjita Chanu, Sathish Sivalingam and Venkat Rahul Ragala had earlier emerged champions in their respective categories. Yadav started slowly, lifting 95 kg in her opening attempt. However, Vaivai registered 97 kg to take the lead after the completion of the opening attempts.
 
Yadav lifted 98 kg in her second attempt but Vaivai maintained the lead with 100 kg. The Indian equalled that in her third and last attempt and Vaivai's failure to lift 103 meant both lifters ended the snatch phase at the joint top spot. Yadav did not look convincing at the start of the clean and jerk phase. She struggled to lift 118 kg in her first attempt which gave her the lead. But failing at 122 kg in her second attempt put her in a spot of bother. However, she recovered to lift 122 kg in her third attempt and Vavai's failure at that same weight put the Indian in the leading position for the gold. Davies then made a brave attempt at the gold with a final attempt of 128 kg. But her attempt proved futile as she failed to lift that weight, sparking celebrations in the Indian camp.

3. Weightlifter Vikash Thakur wins bronze at Commonwealth Games 2018: India's Vikas Thakur took a bronze medal in the men's 94kg category of the weightlifting competition in the 21st Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast. Thakur registered a total of 351 kg, which included 159 kg in snatch and 192 kg in clean and jerk. Defending champion Steven Kari of Papua New Guinea won a second consecutive CWG title with a total of 370 kg. He cleared 154 kg in snatch before creating a new Commonwealth and CWG record by lifting 216 kg in clean and jerk. Canada's Boady Santavy took the silver medal with an aggregate of 369 kg. He created a new CWG record by lifting 168 kg in snatch and managed a best effort of 201 kg in clean and jerk.

4. Ravi Kumar shoots bronze in men's 10-m air rifle: India's Ravi Kumar bagged the bronze medal in men's 10-metre air rifle shooting competition. Ravi shot a total of 224.1 to finish behind Australian Dane Sampson (245) and Bangladesh's Abdullah Hel Baki (244.7), who won the gold and silver, respectively, at the Belmont Shooting Centre in Australia. Ravi survived a shoot-off in the final to finish with a score of 244.7. He had taken bronze in this event at last month's International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico, as well. Deepak Kumar, the second Indian in the fray, also qualified for the finals but eventually finished sixth. Deepak registered a total of 162.3.

The Indians shooters had started their campaign in 10-m air rifle shooting event on a promising note as they got qualified for the final by securing the top two positions in the qualification stage. But failed to capitalise in the main round.

5. Saina Nehwal stars as India enter badminton mixed team finals: Saina Nehwal was at her ruthless best, but top seeds India were tested more than usual before entering the badminton mixed team event finals with a 3-1 win over Singapore in the Commonwealth Games. It was sweet revenge for India, which had lost 2-3 to Singapore in the bronze medal playoff at the 2014 Glasgow CWG. Saina, playing her fifth match in the last four days, was in complete command as she took down Singapore's Jia Min Yeo 21-8 21-15 to steer the side through after a shock loss in men's doubles. Despite playing with a heavily strapped right foot, Saina didn't show any signs of discomfort as she guided the Indian team to victory.

 
6. Mary Kom to bring an assured medal in boxing for India: Veteran Indian star M C Mary Kom entered the semi-finals of the women's 48 kg boxing competition at the 21st Commonwealth Games with a convincing victory over Megan Gordon of Scotland at Gold Coast on Sunday. The five-time world champion dominated her 18-year-old opponent throughout the one-sided quarter-final to claim a unanimous 5-0 verdict at the Oxenford Boxing studios. Her entry into the last four stage confirms a bronze medal for Mary Kom.
 
Although she has world titles and an Olympic bronze in her trophy cabinet, Mary Kom has yet to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games until this year's edition. She started slowly, taking her time to gauge her opponent, although she did land a couple of solid blows.
 
7. India beat England in women's hockey: India staged a late comeback to stun England 2-1 in a Pool A match of the women's hockey competition at Gold Coast on Sunday. England skipper Alexandra Danson (1st minute) scored in the opening minute to put her team ahead right at the start. India hit back through Navneet Kaur (42nd minute) and Gurjit Kaur (48th minute) in the second half to claim a hard-fought win. England were clearly the superior team throughout the game, hogging most of the ball possession and putting the Indian defence under constant pressure with a a stream of seemingly endless attacks.
 
Despite the pressure, the Indian defenders did well to keep the English forwards at bay with excellent organisation and some tight marking. The Indians tried to hit back with the occasional counter-attack, but struggled to maintain possession inside their opponents' half. Desperate to salvage the match England laid siege to the Indian goal, earning their sixth penalty corner in the process. England manager Maggie Souyave decided on an ultra attacking approach in the final minutes, taking off Hinch for an extra forward. But the English efforts did not prove to be enough as the Indians bravely held on for the win.

8. Tejinder Singh enters shot put final: India' Tejinder Singh qualified for the men's shot put final in the 21st Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast. Tejinder registered an attempt of 19.10 metres to enter the 12-man final. Tomas Walsh of New Zealand created a new CWG record with a throw of 22.45m to top the qualification stage.

9. Gymnast Patra disappoints in men's rings final: Indian gymnast Rakesh Patra finished last in the eight-man Rings final in the 21st Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast. Patra finished with a score of 12.933, to find himself out of medal contention. His scores in difficulty and execution were 5.900 and 7.033 at the Coomera Indoor Sports Centre. England's Courtney Tulloch clinched the gold with a total of 14.833, and his compatriot Nile Wilson scored 14.400 to take the silver. Canada's Scott Morgan took the bronze with a total of 14.000.
 
10. Swimmer Sajan Prakash enters men's 100m butterfly semis: India's Sajan Prakash qualified for the semi-finals of swimming men's 100 metre Butterfly at the 21st Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast. Sajan finished second in Heat 2 of the competition after clocking 54.11 seconds only behind Australia's Grant Irvine, who finished with a timing of 53.89 at the Optus Aquatic Centre.