Jess Pugh aiming for another Commonwealth Games medal
Jess Pugh kept her dream of a second medal at these Commonwealth Games alive, but the Telford-born badminton star knows she will need to raise her level again this weekend.
Pugh and her partner Chloe Birch proved far too strong for Guernsey’s Chloe le Tissier and Elena Johnson in the women’s doubles round of 16.
They emerged 21-5, 21-9 winners in just 20 minutes to secure a quarter-final berth in the Carrara Indoor Sports Stadium.
One more victory for the 21-year-old Pugh would guarantee her at least another shot at a medal, following the team bronze secured earlier this week.
But it will not come easily against Malaysia’s Mei Kuan Chow and Vivian Hoo.
“We are really happy with how that went, and to get a win and get some confidence under my belt,” said Pugh, who exited the mixed doubles alongside Ben Lane on Wednesday in the first round.
“That was our first match since the team event.
“We are clicking nicely, we complement each others’ styles very well and in here it is quite a slow hall. So Chloe’s attack and my net play works well in here.
“The Malaysian pair are probably the toughest in the competition, that will be a really hard game.
"But we definitely believe that we can beat them if we play our best so hopefully we can do that tomorrow."
Meanwhile, Caro Hulme and Phoebe Richards helped secure a ninth-placed finish for Wales’ women at the Gold Coast Hockey Centre on Thursday.
Trailing 1-0 to Ghana in their play-off as the game entered the fourth and final period, Tina Evans found the net with less than ten minutes remaining to even up the score.
That meant the game went to a shooutout and Sian French and Sarah Jones held their nerve to find the net and secure Wales a 2-0 shootout victory that ends their campaign on a high.
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