The Indian men's table tennis team defended their gold medal, beating Singapore 3-1 in the final at the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday.
India dropped their first match in the team's event but came back to win their second straight CWG gold. Unlike the group stage win, where India blanked Singapore 3-0, Sharath Kamal lost the second rubber to Clarence Chew. But G Sathiyan and Harmeet Desai won both their doubles and singles ties to seal the gold medal.
The final was first real challenge for India after sailing through to the stage without losing a single match across the group and knockout stages.
G Sathiyan and Harmeet Desai started the rubber with a straight-games win over teens Izaac Quek Yong and Pang Yew En Koen. The first game went the distance but the Indian pair dominated the second two games for a 13-11, 11-3, 11-5 win.
Next, veteran Sharath Kamal took on Clarence Chew but the Singaporean turned the tables to level the tie at 1-1 as India lost a team match for the first time. Chew played a spectacular match for the come-from-behind 3-1 win. After dropping the first game, the Indian came back to take the next 14-12 but his younger opponent won the next two in a comfortable manner. Sharath just couldn't get his rhythm back and lost the third game in just seven minutes, eventually going down 11-7, 12-14, 11-3, 11-4.
The win gave Singapore a boost and Pang returned for his singles match, taking the first game to the distance before Sathiyan clinched it 12-10 with a clever variation on the final point. But Pang got back to win the second. Sathiyan was pumped up and won the next two games, with the Indian team, and crowd which had the women's team including Manika Batra, backing him up. He clinched the win 12-10, 7-11, 11-7, 11-4.
Chew came back for his second singles with Harmeet Desai but he didn't have the same zing Harmeet clinched the match and final in straight games with a 11-8, 11-5, 11-6.
The team celebrated with a huddle and Indian flags, with a special hug from Sharath to Harmeet. The Indians will now move on to individual events in singles and doubles.