He could have been Scottish but he was from India; the locals in Glasgow had taken 27 year old Subhajit Saha to their hearts, following the efforts he had made in the team and singles event during seven days of competition in the Scotstoun Sports Campus; his level of sportsmanship a model for all.

The point that brought the final of the Men’s Doubles event to an end, on Monday 25th May 2009, saw him leap into the arms of partner Sharath Kamal Achanta, as they beat the top seeds Singapore’s Gao Ning and Yang Zi to clinch gold.

Jaipur Revisited
In a match full of thrilling rallies, the Indians, seeded n.2, secured a four games victory and as in Jaipur two years earlier, a clean sweep of medal titles for Singapore had been prevented.

Furthermore, it was the same event that had been their downfall; in 2007 Nigeria’s Monday Merotohun and Segun Toriola had been the villains.

Precious Gold
The Indian team on the back row of the tiered seating rose as one, the Scottish crowd followed suit and Massimo Costantini, the Italian now the head coach in Italy, rose in admiration.

India, enjoying their most successful Commonwealth Championships of all time with a host of medal, had the most precious medal of all in their grasp. They had gold.

Normal Service
However, in the corresponding Women’s Doubles competition it was normal service.

Top seeds, Singapore’s Sun Bei Bei and Yu Meng Yu captured gold; they beat second seeds, Sara Yuen and Zhang Mo of Canada in the final, gradually acclimatising to the combination of the two young ladies from the continent of North America.

Partners
Throughout the doubles event, the long pimpled rubber on the backhand of Sara Yuen’s racket, her blocking combined with a unique short forehand stroke, alien to the purist, had created openings for Zhang Mo.

Sixth Time
However, gradually the class of the Singaporeans told, for the sixth consecutive Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships, the gold medal in the Women’s Doubles event was in the hands of Singapore.

It was in the hands of Sun Bei Bei and Yu Meng Yu.

Men’s Doubles: Final
Sharath Kamal Achanta/Subhajit Saha (IND) bt Gao Ning/Yang Zi (SIN) 11-8, 10-12, 13-11, 12-10

Women’s Doubles: Final
Sun Bei Bei/Yu Meng Yu (SIN) bt Sara Yuen/Zhang Mo (CAN) 4-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-7

Image by Ian Watson