Commonwealth Games: Team Scotland Day 7 round-up

Reece McFadden lands a blow on his Pakistani opponent. PICTURE: Getty Images

MEDALS for shooters David McMath and Linda Robson, diver James Heatly and para sprinter Maria Lyle took Scotland's tally to 32 medals; sitting seventh in the medal table with seven gold, 11 silver and 14 bronze. In doing so the team has exceeded the pre-Games medal target of 29, set in Melbourne in 2006 '“ Team Scotland's previous most successful previous overseas Games. Here we look at how the rest of the team in action fared on the seventh day of competition.

Badminton

Kirsty Gilmour made light work of her first game in the women’s Singles, hammering Aurelie Allet of Mauritius 21-3, 21-4 in just 17 minutes. There was an equally impressive showing from Alex Dunn and Eleanor O’Donnell to win their Mixed Doubles second round against Sri Lanka in straight games.

There was disappointment in the Men’s Singles for Kieran Merrilees who exited the competition after a narrow defeat in three games to Singapore’s Kean Yew Loh. In the mixed doubles round of 32, Julie MacPherson and Martin Campbell lost 2-0 to England’s Lauren Smith and Marcus Ellis but Alex Dunn and Eleanor O’Donnell saw off their Sri Lankan opponents.

Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland returns the shuttlecock to Mauritius' Aurelia Allet in her women's singles win. PICTURE: AP

Boxing

Scotland’sboxers have guaranteed themselves at least two bronze medals after Reece McFadden and John Docherty progressed to the semi-finals.

McFadden, a bronze medallist in Glasgow, has guaranteed himself another Commonwealth medal with a unanimous points victory in the 52kg quarter-finals against Pakistan fighter Syed Muhammad Asif.

McFadden said: “I am desperate for that gold medal. I’m delighted with that performance and I’m going to keep progressing to take that gold medal home for Scotland.”

In a repeat of the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games middleweight final, Docherty once again faced Englishman Benjamin Whittaker. The result on the Gold Coast went the way of Docherty and he now proceeds to the semi-finals.

He said: “I’m very happy to secure the bronze, but all that’s on my mind is the gold. That’s what I’ve come here for.”

Up against home favourite Harry Garside, with a partisan crowd cheering for the Aussie; lightweight Nathaniel Collins fought well throughout the quarter-final bout but came out on the wrong side of the judges’ decision.

Lawn Bowls

Action continued in the preliminary stages of the Women’s Pairs and Men’s Fours today, with the Women’s Pairs first beating Cook Islands 36-10, and then losing 11-8 to Malaysia, meaning they qualify for a quarter-final match against Australia.

The Men’s Fours beat England 12-8, meaning they remain at the top of their pool going into their quarter-final.

The Women’s Triples were drawn against Malaysia in their quarter-final this evening, ending the game on a 17-15 win, meaning they will progress to the semi-final against Canada.

Squash

Lisa Aitken and Alison Thomson faced the Cayman Islands in their first women’s doubles match of the day, winning 2-0. In the evening they faced English pair Laura Massaro and singles silver medallist, Sarah-Jane Perry on the show court at Oxenford Studios for a place in the next round. It was a physical encounter and the Scottish duo played some spectacular shots to take the first game. The second and third games were a real battle, both going in favour of the English pair, who took the match 2-1.

In the men’s doubles, Alan Clyne and Greg Lobban continued their strong start with a 2-0 win over Guyana in 15 minutes. Aitken then returned to the court for her third match of the day alongside Kevin Moran in the Mixed Doubles against India’s Joshna Chinappa and Harinder Pal Sandhu. It was a close match, going 2-0 to India, but the Scottish duo had already done enough to progress to the last 16.

Table Tennis

The men’s dubles competition got under way with Gavin Rumgay and Craig Howieson getting the better of the Northern Irish duo Owen Cathcart and Zak Wilson 3-0.

They returned to the tables in the men’s singles facing Buwaneka Jayasingha Muidyanselage of Sri Lanka and Ning Gao of Singapore respectively. Rumgay’s experience showed as he took the match 4-0; but Howieson lost out 4-0.

Rumgay said: “I felt pretty sharp, and I surprised myself to be honest. The mindset was attack. I had a good 30 minutes in the practice hall, the best I have had, so I just took that onto the match table and did the same again. I wasn’t even thinking too much, other than just be aggressive and take the ball as early as possible. For 33 years old, I move my feet pretty well.”