Achanta's best performance in the singles tournament since claiming gold 16 years ago had been bronze at New Delhi 2010 and Gold Coast 2018, although he had already contributed to mixed doubles and men's team success at Birmingham 2022.

Seeded third at the age of 40, Achanta faced world number 20 Pitchford, aged 29, in the final.

The home favourite took the first game 13-11 on a tiebreak, but Achanta hit back with an 11-7 victory in the second, and then required just four minutes to win the third 11-2.

An 11-6 success in the fourth put him on the brink of gold, and he took his opportunity by clinching the fifth game 11-8.

His compatriot Sathiyan Gnanasekaran took bronze, but only after surviving a remarkable comeback from England's Paul Drinkhall in a match that lasted an hour and 18 minutes.

Team gold medallist Gnanasekaran steamrollered his way through the first three games 11-9, 11-3 and 11-5 in search of a first singles medal at the Commonwealth Games.

He led 5-3 in the fourth and 9-7 in the fifth, but a resurgent Drinkhall, backed by the increasingly vocal home crowd, had himself back in the contest by taking both games 11-8 and 11-9 respectively.

A tiebreak in the sixth went the sixth seed's way too as he triumphed 12-10 to level the match.

However, Gnanasekaran's rampant start in the decider had him back on course for bronze as he took a 7-1 lead.

Drinkhall rallied again, and incredibly took a 9-8 lead, but Gnanasekaran finished strongly to collect three consecutive points and secure bronze.

Singapore's Feng Tianwei and Zeng Jian dominated the women's doubles final to take gold in straight games against Australia's Jee Minhyung and Jian Fang Lay.

They took just four minutes to win the first game 11-1.

The following two games had a similar pattern to them, Jee and Lay taking a 2-0 lead before their Singaporean opponents ran out 11-8 winners.

Their victory came in just 22 minutes.

It was Feng's third gold medal at Birmingham 2022, after she beat team-mate Zeng in yesterday's women's singles final and the pair were part of the successful Singaporean effort in the team event.

Her achievements in the English city make her the most decorated table tennis player in Commonwealth Games history, taking her tally up to 13 medals.

Bronze went to Wales' Charlotte Carey and Anna Hursey, who triumphed in four close matches against Singapore's Wong Xin Ru and Zhou Jingyi.

Carey and Hursey won the first two games 16-14 and 14-12 on tiebreaks, but Wong and Zhou hit back to take the third 11-9.

The fourth went the distance and required the Welsh pair to come from 8-5 behind, but they turned it around to triumph 12-10 and clinch a place on the podium to the delight of their vocal supporters.