Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal made history on the tenth day of the Commonwealth Games by winning gold in squash, while Vijender Singh-led boxers choked in the final and settled for silver.
Joshna-Dipika claimed the top prize in women's doubles, defeating the top-seed English pair Jenny Duncalf and Laura Massaro 11-6, 11-8 in just 28 minutes. The Indian pair won the opening game easily, but the top-seeds did not surrender and roared to a 7-2 lead in the second game.
However, the Indian eves fought back to register a famous straight-sets victory and claimed first medal in squash for India in the Commonwealth Games.
"We were down for a while, but we were confident," Dipika said. "We were telling ourselves that we could do it. We were not here to settle for the silver. We had the belief and the confidence that we could win the gold medal."
Pitted against the teams like England, Australia and New Zealand, Dipika and Joshna won the title against all odds, when no one gave them a chance of finishing on the podium, let alone winning the gold. But the Indian girls came out in flying colours against a field that featured former medallists.
"Doubles was a tough competition," Dipika explained. "It was important for us to take one match at a time, not thinking about whom we were going to play if we advanced. I guess that paid off as it took away the pressure."
Meanwhile, after a promising showing in the competition, Indian pugilists failed to carry their form in the finals and settled for silver. Vijender, L Sarita Devi, L Devendro Singh and Mandeep Jangra lost their final bouts on Saturday at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre.
Vijender, who was aiming for gold, failed to breach the defence of Antony Fowler and the Englishman managed to beat the Indian star 2-1. The Englishman knocked down Vijender in the first round. However, he recovered in no time but was clearly rattled by the blow.
Vijender couldn't recover from opening round blows and struggled to land punches. After being completely outplayed in the first two rounds, the Olympic bronze medallist won the third round but the first two rounds' deficit proved too much for him.
Jangra was a no match for Scott Fitzgerald and suffered three knockdowns, before losing 3-0. Devendro also struggled and lost to Northern Ireland's Paddy Barnes, although the Indian fought aggressively but his week defence let him down.
Earlier, Sarita put a valiant fight against Australian Shelley Watts but lost the bout 3-0. Watts landed a flurry of punches on the Manipuri boxer in the later stages of the match, when she ran out of gas to clinch the gold.
Meanwhile, RMV Gurusai Dutt and PV Sindhu settled for bronze in the badminton singles event, while Parupalli Kashyap prevailed over Rajiv Ouseph to move into the final. In the women's doubles, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa also cruised into the finals.
