Commonwealth Games 2010 : Jwala Gutta/A.Ponappa Wins Gold

In a flawless and powerful display of badminton , the Indian pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa edged past the Singaporean pair of Sari Shanti Mulia and Yao Lei in straight-games to clinch India’s first women’s doubles gold medal in the commonwealth games. Second seed Jwala-Ashwini beat top seed Shanti-Lei 21-16 21-19. Jwala and Ashwini displayed some ruthless tennis and vociferous smashes as the opponents were found wanting in all departments of the game.

The first set started on a bright note for the Singaporean pair as they quickly raced to a 3-0 win . But slowly and steadily the pair found their touch and even led 11-10 at break . They further capitalized on some powerful near net performances by Jwala Gutta and baseline hits from Ponappa to take the set 21-16 .

The second set was a tight affair with both teams at the top of the game . The top pair was slowly finding their rhythm and were leading 11-9 at the break . They started capitalizing on the lead and took a decisive 2 point lead( 15-12) . But the crowd were yet to see the best of the Indian pair as this combined with some favourable refereeing decisions and unforced errors by the Singapore pair clinched the gold medal for the pair .

With Saina fighting for the gold later this day , India can yet overtake England and take the second position in the medals table . Keeping my fingers crossed .