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Rediff.com  » Sports » India at the Games - Day 11

India at the Games - Day 11

March 26, 2006 21:01 IST
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Highlights:

  • Samresh Jung adjudged best athlete of the Games
  • Sharath Achanta Kamal wins men's table tennis gold
  • India's tally: 22 gold, 17 silver, 11 bronze
  • Total medals won: 50
  • India fourth in medal tally

Sharath Achanta Kamal , 23, completed a grand table tennis double when he beat Sweden-based Australian William Henzel 4-3 in the final.

The 23-year-old Indian ace won 11-5, 8-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8 in a little over 35 minutes.

It was India's 22nd gold medal and the 50th overall at the Games.

India finished fourth with 22 gold medals, 17 silver and 11 bronze. 

- Commonwealth Games coverage

With the victory, the six-foot-two tall Sharath, who has won double gold medals at the Commonwealth Championships and Commonwealth Games, expects his ranking to go up inside top-100.

"I also expect to get into top-50 in a year or two," said Kamal.

"I woke up too early in the morning. It was tension and excitement together. I went for a jog and came back and then slept for an hour. And then I was tense even when the match began."

"I thought I had thrown away the match when I lost the sixth game. But in the seventh game, I got an early lead 4-1 and then he caught up but from 7-7, when I took a timeout things worked for me.

"It was really a tense and close match and I think in the end, it was all a question of nerves."

Last week, he helped India win a historic gold medal in the team event.

The Games were a successful outing for India as the contingent returned with medals from seven of the ten disciplines it took part in.

COMPARISON OF INDIAN MEDALS IN 2002 AND 2006

  2002 2006
Sport Gold Silver Bronze Gold Silver Bronze
ATHLETICS 0 1 1 0 2 1
BADMINTON 0 0 1 0 0 2
BOXING 1 1 1 1 2 2
HOCKEY 1 0 0 0 1 0
SHOOTING 14 7 3 16 7 4
TABLE TENNIS 0 0 2 2 0 1
WEIGHTLIFTING 11 9 7 3 5 1
WRESTLING 3 3 0 Not held
JUDO 0 1 1 Not held
Total 30 - 22 - 17 (69) 22 - 17 - 11 (50)
  • In weightlifting, till 2002, three sets of medals were awarded in each weight category, while in 2006, just one set was awarded.

Concluding day's event:

TABLE TENNIS:

Men's singles: Sharath Kamal bt William Henzel (Aust) 11-5, 8-11, 5-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8.

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