CWG 2022 | Badminton, table tennis stars dazzle on final day; India finishes 4th with 22 gold

India wrapped up its 2022 Commonwealth Games campaign with 61 medals to finish a creditable fourth

Led by P. V. Sindhu, Indian shuttlers owned the badminton arena by winning all three titles on offer on the day while paddler Sharath Kamal yet again reminded everyone of his class and awe-inspiring longevity with a coruscating show, as the country wrapped up its CWG campaign with 61 medals to finish a creditable fourth.

It was expected that Sindhu, Lakshya Sen and the formidable pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy would end up on top of the podium but what provided the icing on the cake was the 40-year-old Sharat Kamal's gold medal-winning show against an equally good opponent in Liam Pitchford.

That performance took India's gold medal count to 22, which is four less than the 2018 edition, but this time the sport of shooting was missing from the roster. The shooters had contributed seven golds in Gold Coast's 66-medal haul, and considering that, India certainly put up a good show.

However, with the 0-7 hammering of the men's hockey team by Australia, when at least a spirited fight was anticipated, the Games ended on a somewhat disappointing note.

The manner in which India caved in took away the joy of the silver medal it managed.

India's final tally read 22 gold, 16 silver and 23 bronze and they stood behind third-placed Canada, which was far ahead with 92 medals (26-32-34). Australia (67-57-54) finished on top ahead of hosts England (57-66-53).

Coming back to TT, Sharath and G. Sathian had lost to England's Pitchford and Paul Drinkhall in the men's doubles gold medal match, but on Monday, both the Indians had their revenge.