AFP/London


TASTE OF SUCCESS: India’s Saina Nehwal kisses her bronze medal after beating China’s Wang Xin in their bronze medal women’s singles badminton match at the London 2012 Olympic Games in London. (AFP
Saina Nehwal etched her name in India’s sporting history winning the country’s maiden medal from badminton and becoming the second Indian woman to stand on the podium after China’s Xin Wang retired hurt from the bronze medal play-off in the women’s singles event at the London Games here yesterday.
However, the glamorous mixed doubles pair of Leander Paes and Sania Mirza went down 5-7, 6-7 (7-5) in the quarter finals against the top seeded Belarusian pair of Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi to bring to an end India’s fruitless tennis campaign. Luck smiled on Saina who had lost the first game 18-21 and was trailing 0-1 in the second when the Chinese was forced to pull out with a right knee injury securing the third medal for India from the 2012 Games.
Marksman Gagan Narang had put India on the medals tally by claiming the bronze in men’s 10m air rifle Monday before fellow shooter Vijay Kumar bolstered the nation’s position garnering a silver in 25m rapid fire pistol yesterday.
India had collected three medals (1 gold and two bronze) in the Beijing Games also four years back.
In the ring, L. Devendro Singh became the second Indian boxer to enter the quarter finals bringing some relief following last night’s heartbreak when Vikas Krishan had to
bow out from the pre-quarters hours after the authorities overturned the result of the men’s 69 kg bout which featured the Indian against American Errol Spence.
Hours after Vikas was declared the winner of the bout 13-11, the competition jury of AIBA ruled on an American protest Friday night that Vikas committed nine holding fouls in the third and last round alone and also that the Indian had intentionally spit out his mouth guard in the second round.
In the badminton bronze-medal play-off, though fourth seed Saina took off well with exquisite defensive shots in the first game, the Chinese recuperated in no time to equalise at 5-all.
From thereon it was a Wang-dominated game all the way and the Indian could not match her pace making many errors. She made several poor line judgements conceding at least four points to the World No.2.
Wang, a former World No.1, constantly caught Saina on the backfoot and the Hyderabadi, looking nervous, could not pick her cross-court smashes nor her drops at the net. However, Saina tried fighting back at the end of the first game after Wang reached game point (20-14). The Commonwealth Games gold medallist saved four game points to make it 18-20.
But a match point away, the Chinese made a heavy landing, while hitting a smash, and fell on the floor writhing in pain. The referee called for medical time-out. The tournament doctor came in and tended to her knee. The World No.2 returned to the court with a heavily strapped right knee. Surprisingly, she immediately sealed the game smashing Saina’s serve.
But despite winning the first point in the second game, she again dropped on the court in pain.
Saina went to comfort Wang, who had no choice but to retire as she could not carry on. The match was awarded to Saina, who hugged her opponent becoming India’s second woman to win an Olympic Medal after weightlifter Karnam Malleswari at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
India cannot appeal overturned decision-AIBA
London/New Delhi: India will appeal against the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) decision to overturn a result that cost Vikas Krishan a quarter-final spot at the London Olympics, but the organisation said they do not have grounds to do so.
World amateur bronze medallist Krishan originally won his welterweight bout against Errol Spence 13-11 but, after reviewing video footage, AIBA declared the American the winner.
The governing body said its competition jury found Spence should have been awarded four additional points for fouls committed by the Indian, handing the US men a lifeline after the original result appeared to condemn them to their worst result at an Olympic Games.
“The whole country is furious about this decision. The jury are gone back home after last night so just before the session starts today we will be meeting them to make a formal appeal,” chef de mission P.K.M. Raja told Reuters in London yesterday.
“My sports minister has contacted me, government officials, the whole country is very upset about this decision.”
However AIBA said the jury’s decision was final. “Under AIBA Technical & Competition Rules, the decision of the Competition Jury in relation to a protest is final, and cannot be appealed,” a spokesman for AIBA told Reuters in an e-mailed response to the Indian team’s calls.
Raja earlier told the CNN-IBN channel that the Indian team thought Spence had also committed fouls and that he too should have been cautioned. Asked if it was too late to appeal now, Raja said: “No boxer starts protesting after winning a bout. Now that the decision has been reversed, we’d like to bring to their notice the other fouls which have been committed by the other boxer which have not been taken into consideration. We also have a right to be heard. I’m sure it (an appeal) would stand.”