GOLD COAST: 18-year-old Talha Talib from Gujranwala on won the first medal for Pakistan in the 21st Commonwealth Games on Thursday.
The athlete was competing in the 62 Kg category in which he lifted a total of 283 kilograms to bag the bronze medal at the games which are being played at Australia’s Gold Coast.
Talib further on created a Commonwealth Games record by lifting 132 Kg in the snatch event. His was the only achievement by Pakistani athletes, as the country suffered an embarrassing defeat of 5-0 to Scotland in badminton and couldn’t show much mettle in the other categories either.
Scotland’s Alexander Dunn and Eleanor O’ Donnell won against Pakistan’s Murad Ali and Palwasha Bashir 21-13 and 21-12 in mixed doubles.
Kieran Merrilees convincingly beat Irfan Saeed Bhatti (21-6, 21-16) in the men’s singles while Kirsty Gilmour beat Mahnoor Shahzad (21-6, 21-10) in the women’s singles.
In the men’s doubles, the Ali-Bhatti duo lost (21-8, 21-10) against Scottish Martin Campbell and Patrick Maghugh while Julie Macpherson and Eleanor O’ Donnell won (21-6, 21-4) against Mahnoor Shahzad and Palwasha Bashir in a game that barely lasted 20 minutes.
Things weren’t so bright when it came to Pakistan’s national sport either as in the opening fixture of men’s hockey, Pakistan struggled to hold a 1-1 draw against Wales. Pakistan’s next hockey match is against arch-rivals India on Saturday.