Success trickled in from the most unexpected corner for India at the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday when an unknown unit of four women assured the country of a historic medal in rarely followed lawn bowls while judokas added two medals to the country's tally after weightlifter Ajay Singh drew a blank.
Coming together from as diverse fields as police, teaching and administration, the quartet of Lovely Choubey, Rupa Rani Tirkey, Pinki and Nayanmoni Saikia, finally have something to answer back to naysayers.
Their new-found success is not expected to trigger a revolution and launch a quick transformation of the sport but a CWG medal could still prove to be a huge step in that direction as it might result in more Indians embracing the sport.
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The 'leader' of the pack, 38-year-old Lovely is a constable with Jharkhand Police while Rupa, who too is from Ranchi, works in the state sports department.
Pinki, who picked up the sport accidentally during the 2010 CWG in Delhi, is a sports teacher with DPS R K Puram in New Delhi while Nayanmoni comes from a farming family in Assam and works in the state's forest department.
The team defeated New Zealand 16-13 in the semi-final to earn a maiden final appearance in the women's fours format of the competition.
"We cannot express our feelings in mere words. We have fought as a team and now our journey doesn't end here," an emotional Tirkey said.
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"We have to play in a similar fashion against South Africa and do what hasn't been done before," she added.
Against New Zealand, after conceding a 0-5 lead after the second-end, the Indian team made a strong back against the Kiwi team of Selina Goddard (lead), Nicole Toomey (second), Tayle Bruce (third) and Val Smith (skip).
After end-9, they were tied 7-7 but after end-10, India had taken a 10-7 lead. It was a close contest between the two sides, as New Zealand was marginally 13-12 ahead after end-14.
A brilliant shot from Tirkey helped India seal the game with a 16-13 scoreline.
The Indian men's pair was knocked out of the competition on Sunday after going down 8-26 to Northern Ireland in the quarter-final.
Judokas Win Two Medals
Indian judokas L Shushila Devi and Vijay Kumar Yadav ensured that there will be addition to the country's medal tally on the day. While Shushila won a silver in women's 48kg, Vijay grabbed a bronze in men's 60kg.
The 27-year-old Shushila fought hard before losing the final via 'Waza-Ari' in the 4.25-minute final against South Africa's Michaela Whitebooi.
Yadav dished out a dominating show to take down Petros Christodoulides of Cyprus with an 'Ippon' in the bronze medal match.
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For Shushila, it was her second silver medal at the showpiece event. She had finished runners-up at the 2014 Glasgow games as well.
A sub-inspector with Manipur Police, Shushila had progressed to the final, beating Priscilla Morand of Mauritius.
No Medal From Weightlifting Arena
After the high of five medals in two days, the weightlifting contingent could not add to the tally as Ajay Singh (81kg) missed the bronze by a whisker.
The 25-year-old managed a total effort of 319kg (143kg+176kg) to finish fourth best in the men's 81kg event.
A low snatch total and a fluffed clean and jerk lift cost him dear.
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"I tried my best but it was simply not my day. There were no negative thoughts and coach (Vijay Sharma) kept motivating me. I gave my best but could not make it," Singh said.
"I had three clean lifts (snatch) and at one point I was ahead by one kilogram. I thought I would give my best in clean & jerk in my last effort but that did not happen," he said.
Easy Win For Boxers
Amit Panghal moved to the men's flyweight (51kg) quarterfinals after out-punching Namri Berri of Vanuatu via an unanimous verdict.
Panghal, who is participating in his first big tournament after the disappointing show at the Tokyo Olympics, looked in control throughout the three rounds.
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He used his combination of right and left punches effectively and fought from a distance, compelling Berri to come forward and attack.
"It was a good workout but it was easy. My opponent was good but never gave me any problems," Panghal said after his win.
"I could have stepped it up but there is a long way to go and I am here for gold. I won silver at Gold Coast and I am here to go one better."
Featherweight boxer Mohammad Hussamudin made it two out of two as he also advanced to the quarterfinals with a similar 5-0 win over Mohammad Salim Hossain of Bangladesh.
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Disappointment In Hockey
A profligate men's hockey team squandered position of advantage to play out a 4-4 draw against England. The team was leading 3-0 at one time but allowed the host nation to walk away with a draw.
The Indians scored through Lalit Upadhayay (3rd minute), Mandeep Singh (13th and 22nd) and Harmanpreet Singh (46th) from a penalty corner.
England produced a valiant fightback in the second half and scored through Liam Ansell (42nd), Nick Bandurak (47th, 53rd) and Phil Roper (53rd).
