Glasgow: Indian shuttler Parupalli Kashyap etched his name in gold in the record books by winning his first major championship at the Commonwealth Games here on Sunday.
The second seed emerged victorious in the men’s singles final against Singaporean sixth seed Derek Wong to turn the bronze he won four years ago in New Delhi into a gold. The 27-year-old won 21-14, 11-21, 21-19 in just over an hour at the Emirates Arena.
Kashyap has a 2-1 record over Wong in official Badminton World Federation (BWF) matches but, the last time the duo met, the Indian ended on a losing note. This is India’s third men’s singles gold at the Games after the legendary Prakash Padukone won it in 1978 and Syed Modi repeated the feat four years later.
India’s fifth seed R.M.V. Gurusaidutt had won the bronze on Saturday in a play-off by overcoming England’s third seed Rajiv Ouseph.
World No. 22 Kashyap took off well with a 5-2 lead, which he comfortably extended to 11-7 at the first game break. Wong was no match for Kashyap, whose speed and agility was too hot to handle and he raced away to seal the game in just 15 minutes.
However, the world No. 40 upped the ante in the second game and immediately took a 6-2 lead, which he extended to 11-6 by the mid-game break. Wong was so dominant in the second game that he won 10 of the next 15 points to level the match.
It was neck-and-neck in the decider, but that did not stop both shuttlers from playing aggressively. It remained extremely close until Kashyap took the lead for the first time in the game (15-14) since leading 4-3 right at the start.
However, buoyed by a large Indian support base who were cheering for Kashyap with shouts of India jeetega (India will win), the former world No. 6 gained momentum and extended the lead to 19-16.
The Hyderbadi displayed some nervy moments when he lost three consecutive points to Wong to make it 19-all, but he stuck it out to win the next two points and clinch the gold.
Meanwhile, Michelle Li became the first Canadian to win women’s singles gold as she saw off the challenge of Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour and her passionate home following at the Emirates Arena.
Li, who had caused a surprise on Saturday by beating top seed P.V. Sindhu of India, was always in control of the final, winning the first game 21-14 before cruising to the second 21-7.
“I think I’ve added a better mental aspect to my game and that’s really helped me in this tournament,” she said.
“This will mean a lot for Canada and it definitely means a lot to me. I’m really happy to have the opportunity to represent my country.”
Gilmour admitted her semi-final exertions to beat Tee Jing-yi left her feeling exhausted.
“I gave so much yesterday mentally, and so much concentration that I don’t think I had much left today, but I gave it my all,” she said.
“I wasn’t 100 per cent right mentally out there.”
