Saurav Ghosal and Dipika Pallikal Karthik won their second medal at the Commonwealth Games, with a bronze at Birmingham, courtesy of a win against Australia's Cameron Pilley and Donna Lobban by a 11-8 11-4 scoreline. After a silver at Gold Coast in 2018, Ghosal and Pallikal Karthik have added to their tally, which is also the former's second bronze medal of these Games, after the Men's Singles.
This is also Pallikal Karthik's fourth Commonwealth Games medal, and her first at Birmingham this year, after she was knocked out of the Women's Doubles in the quarterfinal, partnering Joshna Chinappa.
Displaying impressive court coverage, the Indian pair raced to a 7-2 lead in the first game, with Ghosal's drop shots also causing plenty of consternation for their opponents. Pallikal Karthik was quite positive, opting for risky winners that she converted more often than not, resulting in a 10-3 lead. Yet, there was a spate of lapses in concentration as the Australian duo was allowed 5 consecutive points, before Ghosal-Pallikal Karthik closed out the first game.
In the second game, the Indian pair took a 2-0 lead to begin with, before a few unforced errors meant Pilley-Lobban clawed it back to 3-3. Pilley and Lobban each snatched at their shots after, conceding two points in quick succession. Pallikal Kartik then outfoxed Pilley in the next point, shaping up for a cross-court shot before going straight on. A break in play happened with India 7-3 up as Ghosal jumped over the ball and blocked Pilley with the video review ruling it a stroke.
Pallikal Karthik's drop shot proved an unbeatable weapon once more, as Pilley was left scrambling. More winners flowed from her racquet as the Indian pair went on to close the game with relative ease.
Earlier, the top seeds, who had won the title at the World Doubles Championship at Glasgow earlier this year, had been beaten by the experienced New Zealand duo of Paul Coll and Joelle King.
In the first couple of rounds, the Indian pair had eased past the Welsh pair of Emily Whitlock and Peter Creed, and the Australian pair of Zac Alexander and Rachael Grinham, but were well-beaten in the semis.