Gold Coast: The women`s table tennis team assured India of a silver medal after beating England 3-0 in the semi-final of the 21st Commonwealth Games at the Oxenford Studios here on Sunday. Seasoned campaigner Manika Batra gave India an early 1-0 lead after bouncing back from one game down to beat Kelly Sibley 9-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 in the first singles tie.
Madhurika Patkar doubled India`s lead after overcoming a stiff contest from Tin-Tin Ho to win 11-7, 13-11, 10-12, 11-8 in the second singles match. India`s win was sealed by the doubles pair of Mouma Das and Madhurika, who edged past Maria Tsaptsinos and Kelly 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 11-1.
India will now face Singapore in the gold medal match later on Sunday while England will lock horns with Australia for the bronze.
Another ray of hope is the veteran Indian star MC Mary Kom who entered the semi-finals of the women`s 48 kilogram boxing competition at the 21st Commonwealth Games with a convincing victory over Megan Gordon of Scotland on Sunday, confirming a bronze medal for India. 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.
Although she has world titles and an Olympic bronze in her trophy cabinet, Mary was yet to win a medal at the CWG until this year`s edition. Mary Kom started slowly, taking her time to gauge her opponent, although she did land a couple of solid blows. The Manipuri legend landed a flurry of punches in the closing seconds of the opening round to force her opponent on to the ropes. She upped the ante in the second round, picking up the pace as she peppered Megan with powerful blows.
The third and last round followed a similar script with Mary pummelling her opponent with quick combinations. Megan fought bravely as she absorbed the punches and tried to hit back on the counter, but she was no match for the veteran Indian.
