NEW DELHI, JUL 30 (PTI): Manush Shah produced a heroic performance as India’s men’s team overcame a resilient Malaysia 3-2 in the final to lift the 22nd Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships title here on Thursday.
Earlier, the women’s squad thrashed Malaysia without breaking a sweat, wrapping up the final with a 3-0 verdict at the Thyagaraj Stadium.
It was a tricky final for the men’s team, especially after their loss to Malaysia in the league phase.
India left out Harmeet Desai from the lineup, while the Malaysians brought in their second player to play the third rubber.
The tie appeared headed for a comfortable Indian win after Manav Thakkar raced to a 2-0 lead over left-handed Qi Shen Wong in the fourth rubber. However, the Malaysian, ranked No. 204, staged a remarkable comeback to beat world No. 41 Manav 2-3 and level the contest at 2-2, leaving the title to be decided by the fifth and final rubber featuring world No. 40 Manush Shah.
Manush, who had earlier beaten Wong in a five-game battle after recovering from a 4-7 deficit in the decider by winning seven straight points, carried that confidence into the decisive match.
He dominated from start to finish against Javen Choong, securing a comfortable straight-game victory to seal the gold medal for India.
Earlier, Sathiyan lost badly to Hong Yu Tey, including the third deuce game (10-12) of the third rubber after being just a game point away (10-8).
In the women’s final, India blanked Malaysia 3-0.
Sreeshankar wins second straight CWG long jump medal
Murali Sreeshankar added another chapter to Indian athletics history on Wednesday, becoming the country’s first long jump double medallist in Commonwealth Games with a silver here.
Having claimed silver in Birmingham in 2022, the 27-year-old added another medal to his collection after producing a best leap of 8.09 metres, capping an emotional comeback from the career-threatening knee injury that had nearly derailed his career.
Before Sreeshankar, the country’s only medallists in the event were: Suresh Babu (men’s bronze, 1978), Anju Bobby George (women’s bronze, 2002) and M Prajusha (women’s silver, 2010).
Former world champion Tajay Gayle of Jamaica clinched the gold with a best jump of 8.15m while local favourite Stephen Mackenzie grabbed the last spot on the podium with an 8.08m effort.
The medal was especially sweet considering where Sreeshankar stood just over a year ago.
A ruptured patellar tendon in April 2024 forced him to undergo surgery, and miss what was expected to be his maiden Olympic appearance in Paris and raising doubts over whether he could ever return to his explosive best.
But here, he gave another emphatic statement of his comeback.
Competing in only his second Commonwealth Games after missing the 2018 edition, Sreeshankar opened confidently with a leap of 8.03m before stretching it to 8.09m in his second attempt to move into the lead.
The advantage proved short-lived as Jamaica’s Gayle responded with an 8.15m effort to seize top spot.
Sreeshankar then endured two fouls as he searched for a bigger jump before managing 7.94m in his fifth attempt.
The medal continues an encouraging resurgence for the Kerala athlete, who has consistently jumped above the 8m mark this year.
He recorded a season’s best of 8.38m at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar.
The other Indian in the competition Lokesh Sathyanathan finished fifth with a best jump of 7.97m, achieved in his opening attempt.
Sprinters Gavit, Basil complete historic 1-2 in men’s 100m T47
India’s para-athletes remained an inspiring and unstoppable force at the Commonwealth Games as sprinters Dilip Mahadu Gavit and Mohammed Basil scripted another story of grit with a gold-silver finish in the men’s 100m T47 final here.
Gavit clocked a Games record and his season’s best time of 10.71 seconds to take the top spot, while Basil produced his season’s best of 10.83 seconds to finish second in a closely-fought race on Wednesday.
England’s Kevin Santos completed the podium taking 10.85 seconds to win bronze. The men’s 100m T47 is a para athletics sprint event covers arm impairment or absence, affecting strength, movement or coordination on one side.
Gavit’s gold was India’s third at the Games, following Mirabai Chanu’s victory in the women’s 48kg weightlifting event and Sharmila Dhankar’s triumph in the women’s shot put F57 para athletics category.