Kom one win away from medal
Gold Coast: The celebrated MC Mary Kom needs to win just one bout to secure herself a medal, while Vikas Krishan got a bye into the men's pre-quarterfinals as Indian boxers were handed reasonably good draws in the Commonwealth Games here on Tuesday.
With their team doctor Amol Patil let off with a reprimand in the needle controversy, the boxers heaved a sigh of relief and focus was back on the sport.
Mary Kom has been pitted against Scotland's Megan Gordon in the quarterfinals of the 48kg category, which will take place on April 8. Competing in her first and last Commonwealth Games, the 35-year-old is the favourite to claim the gold in a draw which features only eight boxers.
Vikas (75kg), on the other hand, has made it to last-16 because of a bye along with debutant Manish Kaushik (60kg). Vikas has come into this tournament after claiming a gold medal at the prestigious Strandja Memorial Tournament in Bulgaria.
Former Asian Games bronze-medallist Satish Kumar (+91kg) has also got a bye but owing to the small size of his draw, he has reached the quarterfinals. Glasgow CWG bronze-medallist Pinki Jangra (51kg) is another one in the quarterfinals and will be up against England's Lisa Whiteside on April 11.
CWG snubs new BWF rule
Gold Coast: Indian shuttlers have reason to be cheerful going into the Commonwealth Games with the organisers deciding against implementing BWF's experimental service rule that has been criticised by them.
The new service rule, which mandates that the shuttle be exactly at 1.15 meters above the ground at the time of service, was tried at the prestigious All England Championships in March.
The Indians have been critical of it along with several global stars such as Danish star Viktor Axelsen and two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan of China.
The Commonwealth Games, which start on April 4 with an opening ceremony, will be played under the old rules which mandate that the shuttle be kept above the waist height at the time of service.
"The Commonwealth Games Federation and the Badminton World Federation have agreed that the new service rules will not be used during the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games," said a message communicated to the national associations.
The decision would be music to the ears of Indian shuttlers, who have been vocal in their criticism of the rule. The critics of the rule feel that it tilts the scale in favour of short players while putting taller ones like P V Sindhu and Axelsen at a disadvantage.
Sindhu had criticised the BWF for introducing the rule at a big-ticket event like the All England Championships, considered among the most prestigious events in the badminton calendar. She felt the shuttlers should have been given more time to adapt.
Diver retires on CWG eve
Gold Coast: Heartbroken Australian diver Taneka Kovchenko retired on the eve of the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday after medical experts warned that she risked severe paralysis if one more dive went wrong.
The 23-year-old, who had been set to compete in the 10m platform and women's synchronised 10m platform at the Gold Coast, has been suffering headaches and neck pain since the end of last year. Scans confirmed two vertebrae have compressed her spinal cord and her doctor and neurologist said she could end up as a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic in the event of a bad landing.
"I have had an amazing 14 years diving, chasing my dream of representing Australia," said Kovchenko, who hails from nearby Brisbane. "I am grateful for every experience and opportunity I have been given. I am leaving the sport as an athlete proud of my accomplishments and with so many life skills."
IOA accredits Saina's father
Gold Coast: The Indian Olympic Association was on Tuesday forced to get an official accreditation for Saina Nehwal's father Harvir Singh after the star shuttler in an angry missive had threatened to pull out of the CWG.
The 2010 CWG gold medallist wrote a letter to a senior IOA office-bearer currently in Gold Coast where she had said that if her father's name is not cleared as "an official", she will not take part in the quadrennial extravaganza. "I msgd u and tried to call u but u didn't pick up the call but there is so much issue going on with my father...If his accreditation is no (sic) cleared as an official I am not going to play the matches," Saina wrote in her letter addressed to the IOA. An official in the IOA confirmed the report.
"It's our duty to help the sportspersons. They should focus on winning medals. Yes, Saina had written to a senior official. But we don't want to make an issue out of it. As it is, we have solved her problem. We wouldn't like to comment on the tone and tenor of the letter," a senior IOA official said.
Shorter triathlon runs at CWG
gold coast: England's Alistair Brownlee has won gold in the past two Olympic triathlons. At the CWG on Thursday, he won't have to swim, cycle or run quite as far in pursuit of a medal.
Brownlee's first-place finishes at London in 2012 and at Rio de Janeiro in 2016 — and in the Glasgow CWG, in fact — came over the traditional Olympic distances of a 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer cycle and 10-kilometer run.
But this CWG will feature the sprint distance -half of an Olympic event. So a swim leg of 750 meters, a 20-kilometer cycle and a 5-kilometer run. Brownlee will likely appreciate the less-grueling distance — he's coming off hip surgery last August.
It came in a year when Brownlee was focusing on even longer events — in the Ironman 70.3 series. The 70.3 refers to the total distance covered in the race — a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile cycle and 13.1-mile run.