2018 Commonwealth Games, Highlights: India at 3rd spot with 17 gold medals

India got off to a great start on Friday as Tejaswini Sawant clinched gold in women’s 50m rifle 3 positions with Anjum Moudgill coming second to claim silver at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast. Later, Anish Bhanwala won the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol gold as boxer Naman Tanwar lost his men’s 91 kg semi-final to settle for a bronze. Get highlights of 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast here. (India’s full schedule at CWG 2018) (Live streaming info) (Medals tally)

Grapplers Bajrang Punia (gold), Pooja Dhanda, Mausam Khatri (both silver) and Divya Kakran (bronze) then added to the tally by winning three more medals in wrestling. Boxers Mohammed Hussamuddin and Manoj Kumar won bronze. Manika Batra and Mouma Das settled for silver after losing the women’s doubles table tennis final.

17:48 hrs IST: That’s it. Thank you for joining us!

17:30 hrs IST: Meanwhile, Satish Kumar has entered the final in men’s +91 kg boxing.

17:00 hrs IST: In badminton, India’s HS Prannoy defeated Dinuka Karunaratna of Sri Lanka 21-12, 21-6 to reach semis.

16:35 hrs IST: New Zealand have entered the final of men’s hockey with a 3-2 win over India.

16:27 hrs IST: Meanwhile, India’s Vikas Krishan has entered the final of men’s 75kg boxing.

16:15 hrs IST: Indian boxer Manoj Kumar loses men’s 69 kg semifinal, settles for bronze

16:09 hrs IST: New Zealand have taken a 3-1 lead against India in men’s hockey

16:07 hrs IST: Table tennis action over for today!

16:04 hrs IST: And Manika Batra and Mouma Das have to settle for the women’s doubles silver in table tennis after losing their final 0-3 to Singapore’s Feng Tianwei and Yu Mengyu

16:01 hrs IST: Indian boxer Manoj Kumar is now taking on England’s Pat McCormack in the men’s 69 kg semi-final. The loser will take home a bronze medal

15:55 hrs IST: The Indian women’s hockey team will look to put behind their semi-final disappointment as they take on World No.2 England in the bronze medal play-off. The Indian team endured a disheartening 0-1 defeat against hosts Australia in the semi-final yesterday but they will have a chance to redeem themselves when they face England, a team they had defeated 2-1 in a Pool A match

15:50 hrs IST: Meanwhile in hockey, India are trailing New Zealand 1-2 at half-time in the semi-final

15:47 hrs IST: The table tennis women’s doubles final between Indian pair Manika Batra and Mouma Das and Singapore’s Feng Tianwei and Yu Mengyu has also started

15:44 hrs IST: That is medal No.9 for India today and 40 overall!

15:42 hrs IST: Boxer Mohammed Hussamuddin has lost his men’s 56 kg semi-final and has to settle for a bronze medal

15:37 hrs IST: Indian table tennis players Sutirtha Mukherjee and Pooja Sahasrabudhe have lost their women’s doubles bronze medal match 1-3 to Malaysians Ho Ying and Lyne Karen

15:31 hrs IST: Sutirtha Mukherjee and Pooja Sahasrabudhe have won the third game but are still down 1-2. All to play for the bronze medal match

15:26 hrs IST: Indian badminton star PV Sindhu has entered the women’s singles semi-finals with a 21-14, 21-17 victory over Canadian Brittney Tam

15:20 hrs IST: The table tennis women’s doubles bronze medal match is going away from India as Sutirtha Mukherjee and Pooja Sahasrabudhe have lost the first two games against Malaysians Ho Ying and Lyne Karen

15:17 hrs IST: New Zealand have taken a 2-0 lead against India. This is getting worse for India. They will need to fightback here

15:12 hrs IST: New Zealand have taken a 1-0 lead against India in the men’s hockey semi-final

15:07 hrs IST: PV Sindhu has won her first game 21-14 in 18 minutes against Canada’s Brittney Tam

15:00 hrs IST: Indian wrestler Mausam Khatri failed to make use of his wealth of experience as he settled for a silver after losing his final to South African Martin Erasmus in the men’s freestyle 97 kg event. The 27-year-old from Haryana couldn’t overpower 23-year-old Erasmus, who looked in better control and won the match by technical superiority after the scores were 12-2 in his favour at the Carrara Sports Arena. In the run-up to the final, Khatri had secured wins over Cyprus’ Alexios Kaouslidis in the 1/4 final and Nigeria’s Soso Tamarau in the semi-final. A bronze medallist in the 2010 Asian Games, Khatri also won the Commonwealth Championship twice -- in 2009 and 2011. He also has a silver from last year’s edition at Johannesburg

14:55 hrs IST: PV Sindhu’s women’s singles quarterfinal against Canadian Brittney Tam has also started

14:50 hrs IST: The table tennis women’s doubles bronze medal match will commence now between India’s Sutirtha Mukherjee and Pooja Sahasrabudhe and Malaysians Ho Ying and Lyne Karen

14:46 hrs IST: Indian table tennis pairing of Sanil Shetty and Harmeet Desai lost their men’s doubles semi-final 0-3 to English combine of Paul Drinkhall and Liam Pitchford. The Indians will now play the bronze medal match tomorrow

14:41 hrs IST: And hockey action is coming up at 3 PM IST as the Indian men’s hockey team will take on New Zealand in the semi-finals. For all the live action and updates, click here

14:36 hrs IST: Meanwhile, Indian squash aces Dipika Pallikal and Sourav Ghosal have defeated New Zealand pairing of Joelle King and Paul Coll 2-1 to enter the mixed doubles final

14:32 hrs IST: So wrestling is over for today and Indians are bringing home four more medals -- Bajrang Punia (gold), Pooja Dhanda, Mausam Khatri (both silver) and Divya Kakran (bronze)

14:28 hrs IST: Wrestler Mausam Khatri settles for men’s freestyle 97 kg silver, losing the final to South African Martin Erasmus 2-12. The victory was by technical superiority with points scored by the opponent

14:21 hrs IST: Mausam Khatri will be taking part in the men’s freestyle 97 kg final against Martin Erasmus of South Africa now!

14:16 hrs IST: Pooja Dhanda made a late push in the women’s 57 kg final bout against Nigeria’s Odunayo Adekuoroye but had to be content with a silver medal, losing 5-7. Divya Kakran won bronze in women’s freestyle 68 kg by outplaying Bangladesh’s Sherin Sultana 4-0, a victory by fall

14:12 hrs IST: A dominant Bajrang Punia overpowered his opponents with remarkable ease to claim gold in men’s freestyle 65 kg wrestling. The 24-year-old from Haryana dominated the proceedings against Wales’ Kane Charig to register an emphatic 10-0 win to claim India’s 16th gold at the Carrara Sports Arena. Bajrang, who won a silver in Glasgow four years ago, was awarded the victory by technical superiority. In fact, such was his dominance that Bajrang won all his bouts on technical superiority. A 2013 World Championship bronze medallist, Bajrang also won gold medals in the Commonwealth Championships in 2016 and 2017

14:04 hrs IST: Indian table tennis aces A Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan have reached the men’s doubles final by beating Singapore’s Pang Yew En Koen and Poh Shao Feng Ethan 3-1 in the semi-final

13:58 hrs IST: Indian shuttlers Pranaav Chopra and N Sikki Reddy have lost to Malaysian pairing of Peng Soon Chan and Liu Ying Goh in straight games in their mixed doubles quarterfinal

13:52 hrs IST: It is a bronze for Divya Kakran! She beats Sherin Sultana of Bangladesh (victory by fall) to win the women’s freestyle 68 kg bronze medal. Three medals from wrestling today so far for India

13:47 hrs IST: Indian weightlifter Vikas Thakur, who claimed a bronze medal, was searched and dope tested on Friday -- the day of his departure from the event on unexplained suspicions. Thakur, a silver medallist at the 2014 Games, claimed a bronze in the men’s 94 kg category and was to leave with the team on April 11. He did leave but only after a last-minute check by the Commonwealth Games Federation authorities on inexplicable suspicions

13:43 hrs IST: Pooja lost 7-5 to the Nigerian in the final and has to be content with a silver

13:40 hrs IST: Pooja Dhanda has to settle for a silver but nevertheless it is another medal for India!

13:32 hrs IST: And the final has begun!

13:30 hrs IST: Next up is Pooja Dhanda’s final in women’s freestyle 57 kg against Nigerian Odunayo Adekuoroye

13:27 hrs IST: Bajrang won by technical superiority i.e. without any points scored by the opponent

13:24 hrs IST: This is India’s 17th gold and 36th medal overall! What a performance!

13:22 hrs IST: It is GOLD FOR BAJRANG PUNIA! WINS BY REACHING 10 POINTS FIRST! What a dominant performance by the Indian

13:20 hrs IST: Eight technical points for Bajrang already

13:17 hrs IST: And here is Bajrang! Will it gold or silver for the Indian wrestler?

13:15 hrs IST: Indians also in action in badminton as Pranaav Chopra and N Sikki Reddy are playing their mixed doubles quarterfinal

13:08 hrs IST: Bajrang Punia’s men’s freestyle 65 kg gold medal match against Welsh Kane Charig is about to start in a short while

13:05 hrs IST: And the medal rounds start in today’s wrestling

13:00 hrs IST: Pooja Dhanda entered the women’s 57 kg final when she defeated Joseph Tiako of Cameroon 11-5 in the semi-finals. Pooja took the lead in the opening minute of the first period with a two-point takedown. With the African trying to stage a desperate fightback, Pooja displayed some excellent counter-attack techniques to take a sizeable 9-2 lead into the break. Tiako dominated the second round with her strong, aggressive style. Pooja however, used her superior technique to hold on to her lead

12:55 hrs IST: Indian table tennis player G Sathiyan Gnanasekaran has lost to 0-4 England’s Samuel Walker in the men’s singles quarterfinal

12:50 hrs IST: Bajrang and Pooja Dhandha have progressed to the men’s freestyle 65 kg and women’s freestyle 57 kg finals

12:40 hrs IST: The Indian quartet of Jeevan Suresh, Jacob Amoj, Muhammed Anas and Rajiv Arokia entered the final of the men’s 4x400 metre relay. The Indians clocked 3 minutes and 04.05 seconds to finish second in Heat 2

12:25 hrs IST: Indian boxers Amit Panghal, Gaurav Solanki and Manish Kaushik notched up contrasting victories to enter the finals but teenager Naman Tanwar settled for a bronze on Friday

12:15 hrs IST: Indian shooter Shreyasi Singh finished fifth in the women’s trap final with a score of 19. She was eliminated after the competitors had completed 30 shots each

12:00 hrs IST: And shooting is over today. It will return one final time tomorrow

11:54 hrs IST: Shreyasi Singh has been eliminated from the women’s trap finals in fifth position. She fails to win a medal this time

11:47 hrs IST: By winning gold, Anish bettered teammate and 16-year-old Manu Bhaker, who had become the youngest Indian Commonwealth Games gold medallist earlier this week when she emerged champion in the 10m air rifle finals

11:43 hrs IST: Anish Bhanwala, a boy aged 15, became India’s youngest ever gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games. In a sensational CWG debut, Anish shot a Games record score of 30 to claim the top prize in men’s 25m rapid fire pistol finals. Anish entered the six-man finals having topped the second stage of qualification with a total score of 580 and 22 central bulls. India’s other entrant in the event, Neeraj Kumar (13) was the second shooter to be eliminated in the finals after a shoot-off

11:39 hrs IST: Shreyasi, who is in fourth spot out of six, has hit 11 shots out of 16

11:31 hrs IST: Meanwhile Shreyasi Singh is leading in the women’s trap finals out of six competitors

11:16 hrs IST: India’s Kynan Chenai and Manavjit Sandhu finished a lowly sixth and 21st respectively after the first day of qualifications in men’s trap shooting. Kynan shot 23, 23 to take his total to 46 after the opening two rounds on Day 1 while Manavjit fired 22 and 21 to accumulate 43

11:10 hrs IST: Boxer Naman Tanwar loses men’s 91kg semifinal, settles for bronze at CWG 2018

11:06 hrs IST: Double trap gold medallist Shreyasi Singh qualified for the final of women’s trap shooting after finishing fourth in the qualification stage, shooting a series of 23, 24 and 20 for a total of 67 points. However, Seema Tomar couldn’t make the cut as she finished 11th with a score of 61

11:00 hrs IST: An interesting development: The Indian contingent at the Commonwealth Games will appeal against the CGF court’s decision to oust two of the country’s athletes for violating the no needle policy. Indian race walker KT Irfan and triple jumper V Rakesh Babu were ordered to return home from the Games and a strong reprimand issued to the Indian officials here after the duo was found guilty of breaching the event’s strict no needle policy

10:55 hrs IST: Indian shooter Anish Bhanwala at 15 created history by becoming the country’s youngest ever gold medal winner at the Commonwealth Games

10:50 hrs IST: Indian wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Mausam Khatri have entered the finals of their respective freestyle categories

10:40 hrs IST: Indian athletes Neeraj Chopra, Vipin Kashana and Jinson Johnson entered the finals of their respective events on Friday. Chopra and Kashana entered the men’s javelin throw final while Johnson did well to qualify for the medal round of the men’s 1,500m event

10:30 hrs IST: Indian men’s doubles squash pair of Vikram Malhotra and Ramit Tandon lost 1-2 to English pair of James Declan and James Willstrop in the quarterfinals

10:24 hrs IST: India’s Saina Nehwal defeated Canadian Rachel Honderich 21-8, 21-13 to enter the women’s singles semi-finals

10:16 hrs IST: Indian table tennis player A Sharath Kamal has defeated Liam Pitchford of England 4-2 to enter the men’s singles semi-finals

10:13 hrs IST: Indian boxer Naman Tanwar will take on Australia’s Jason Whateley in the semis of the men’s 91 kg event in a few minutes.

10:08 hrs IST: N. Sikki Reddy and Pranaav Chopra will face off against Malaysia’s Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Yang later today.

10:03 hrs IST: Double update - Boxer Manish Kaushik has won his semi-final bout in men’s 60kg boxing and will compete in the final. Meanwhile, Saina Nehwal has stormed into the women’s singles badminton semi-finals.

09:41 hrs IST: Anish Bhanwala wins men’s 25m rapid fire pistol gold at 2018 Commonwealth Games.

09:36 hrs IST: Indian squash players Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal defeated Canadian pair of Samantha Cornett and Nikki Todd 2-1 to advance to the women’s doubles semi-finals

09:34 hrs IST: Indian boxer Gaurav Solanki has entered the men’s 52 kg final with a 4:0 victory over Sri Lanka’s Ishan Bandara, who has to settle for a bronze

09:30 hrs IST: World No.1 shuttler Kidambi Srikanth beat Singapore’s Zin Rei Ryan Ng 2-1 to enter the men’s singles semi-finals

09:25 hrs IST: Indian badminton players Satwik Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty beat Malaysians Peng Soon Chan and Soon Huat Goh 2-1 to enter the men’s doubles semi-finals

09:20 hrs IST: Meanwhile Indian shuttler Ruthvika Gadde retired when she was 5-9 down in the women’s singles quarterfinals to hand Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour a victory

09:17 hrs IST: Meanwhile, Amit Phangal has beaten Juma Miiro of Uganda 5-0 to enter the men’s 49 kg final in boxing

09:14 hrs IST: Indian shuttlers N Sikki Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa defeated Ambalangodage Hasini and Beruwelage Madushika Dilrukshi to enter the women’s doubles semi-finals

09:05 hrs IST: The Indian men’s team has qualified for the 4 x 400m relay final which will be held tomorrow

09:00 hrs IST: Indian athlete Jinson Johnson has qualified for the men’s 1500m final that will be held tomorrow

08:55 hrs IST: Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has qualified for the men’s javelin throw final after achieving the qualifying mark in just his first throw to finish second in his group. Joining Chopra in the men’s javelin thrown final is Vipin Kasana. Chopra threw the javelin to 80.42m to achieve the mark in his first attempt. The effort left him fourth overall in a field where seven of the 12 qualifiers achieved the mark set for the finals.

“I was happy with my (only) throw of 80.42 (metres) when the automatic qualifying was set at 78m,” the 20-year-old said. Like his junior teammate, Kasana also needed just one throw (78.88m) to make the finals

08:50 hrs IST: Indian table tennis player Harmeet Desai lost his men’s singles quarterfinal to Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna 0-4

08:45 hrs IST: Indian table tennis players Manika Batra and Mouma Das beat Malaysians Ying Ho and Karen Lyne 3-0 to enter the women’s doubles final

08:40 hrs IST: Indian table tennis players Sutirtha Mukherjee and Pooja Sahasrabudhe lost 0-3 to Singapore’s Tianwei Feng and Mengyu Yu in the women’s doubles semi-final and will now play the bronze medal match

08:35 hrs IST: Meanwhile, it was curtains for the third Indian pair of Sanil and Madhurika, who squandered a good start to eventually lose narrowly 2-3 (11-6, 5-11, 11-4, 7-11, 7-11) to Liam and Tin-Tin of England

08:30 hrs IST: The veteran duo of Sharath and Mouma had a rather comfortable outing in fending off Canada’s Zhen Wang and Mo Zhang, with a 3-1 (11-9, 11-9, 5-11, 11-5) verdict. Sharath and Mouma will now be up against Singapore’s Ning Gao and Mengyu Yu in the semi-final. In another quarter-final, Sathiyan and Manika outclassed their Singaporean opponents Xue Jie Pang and Yihan Zhou 3-0 (11-6, 12-10, 14-12) in straight games to reach the last four. In the semi-finals, Sathiyan and Manika will face off England’s Liam Pitchford and Tin-Tin Ho at the Oxenford Studios on Saturday

08:20 hrs IST: Indian paddlers continued their dominance at the 21st Commonwealth Games with the mixed doubles teams of Achanta Sharath Kamal and Mouma Das, and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manika Batra entering the semi-finals here. However, the other Indian pair of Sanil Shetty and Madhurika Patkar crashed out after suffering a narrow 2-3 loss in their quarter-final

08:10 hrs IST: Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia entered the final of the men’s 65 kg category. The Indian came up with an awe inspiring performance to win all his bouts by technical superiority. Bouts are awarded on the basis of technical superiority when a wrestler takes a lead of 10 or more points. Bajrang overpowered Vincent De Marinis of Canada in the semi-finals. Bajrang started his campaign with a power-packed display against Brahm Richards of New Zealand

08:05 hrs IST: Tejaswini Sawant wins women’s 50m rifle 3 positions gold, Anjum Moudgil silver at CWG 2018

08:02 hrs IST: Rakesh Babu and KT Irfan are being sent home after a needle was found in a cup in their bedroom at the Athletes’ Village. “The testimony of the athletes ... are both unreliable and evasive,” CGF President Louise Martin said. “Babu and Thodi are with immediate effect not permitted to participate in the Games. Their accreditation was suspended and both athletes have been removed from the village. We have asked the Commonwealth Games association of India to depart Australia on the first flights available.”

07:59 hrs IST: India’s Neeraj Chopra entered the final of the men’s javelin throw event. He hurled the javelin to a distance of 80.42 metres to take the second place in Group A of the qualification round

07:55 hrs IST: Indian paddlers dominated their respective opponents to enter the semi-finals of the men’s doubles table tennis competition. Harmeet Desai and Sanil Shetty did not face too much of a challenge from Hu Heming and Yan Xin of Australia in the quarter-finals as they eased to an easy 11-8, 10-12, 12-10, 11-8 win. Later, Achanta Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan had an even easier day in office as they registered a straight games win over the English team of David McBeath and Samuel Walker. The India duo won 11-7, 11-8, 12-10

07:50 hrs IST: Meanwhile the biggest news is that Indian triple jumper Rakesh Babu and race walker KT Irfan have been baned from the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and ordered to return home after breaches of the ‘no-needles’ policy, the Commonwealth Games Federation said on Friday. The athletes and three team officials had appeared before a CGF hearing on Thursday, president Louise Martin said

07:47 hrs IST: India’s Harmeet Desai and Sanil Shetty entered the semi-finals of the men’s doubles table tennis competition. The Indian duo registered an easy 11-8, 10-12, 12-10, 11-8 win over Hu Heming and Yan Xin of Australia in the quarter-finals

07:45 hrs IST: Indian shooters Anjum Moudgil and Tejaswini Sawant entered the final of the women’s 50 metre rifle 3 positions category. Anjum clinched the top spot in qualification with a Games record of 589 points. Sawant qualified in third with a score of 582

07:42 hrs IST: Indian shooters Anish and Neeraj Kumar topped the qualification stage to enter the final of the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol event. Anish took pole position with 580 points while Neeraj was second with 579

07:30 hrs IST: And bad news for Indians. Two Indians have been banned from the 2018 Commonwealth Games and have been asked to return home as they have breached the anti-syringe policy

07:25 hrs IST: Hello and good morning. Another action packed day of 2018 Commonwealth Games is awaiting us

Manoj Kumar is assured of a medal in boxing but he will be determined to avoid a bronze and at least secure a silver or gold in boxing. Indian men’s hockey team will take on New Zealand in the semi-final and a win will give them a shot at gold. Bajrang Punia is India’s best bet in wrestling. India are currently third in the medal’s tally behind Australia and England.