HARROGATE'S Jenny Duncalf was forced to settle for silver after her gold medal squash showdown with Malaysias long-standing world number one Nicol David ended in defeat.

Duncalf, who will seek another medal opportunity when she teams up with Alison Waters in the womens doubles over the weekend, put up a brave fight but eventually went down to a hard-fought 11-3, 11-5, 11-7 defeat.

"I'm 100 per cent sure I'll look back on it as a great week - to get another medal in the Commonwealth Games is massive to me," said Duncalf.

"The finals a bit disappointing but nonetheless I'm thrilled to have a Commonwealth silver medal and I've got at least one more event to hopefully go a step further and get a gold.

"I've thoroughly enjoyed my time her so far and I'm a bit concerned I've not got much time here left.

"It's unbelievable - the boys one, two, three on the podium is absolutely outstanding and it shows what strength we have in this country in squash.

"Nicol's probably been the most dominant squash player in men and women for a long time and she's a great role model for the sport.

"She is up there right now and definitely someone to aim for and knock off that top spot.

"Nicol's number one and has been for a while and it's no fluke. She's extremely strong physically and I probably still have to close that gap in terms of strength and speed.

"She's always going to be difficult because she's the fittest athlete out there on the squash court."

Elsewhere, Peterlee-born Alan Wills was left distraught at the Yamuna Sports Complex after England lost their bronze medal archery showdown with host nation India.

It was England's archers' second Indian defeat of the day following the womens' recurve team's loss in the gold medal match earlier in the day.

England, who were represented by Wills, Simon Terry and Larry Godfrey, trailed by five after the first end but pulled themselves back into contention until India scored 27 with their final three arrows to take the tie 221:218.

"It's disappointing not to get a medal but it's great to be part of the whole Commonwealth Games experience," said Wills, who is now based in Cumbria.

"It was quite windy out there and it was wobbling about a bit, but we just made too many errors on the day. Fair play to India, they've got a great team."

An England table tennis team inspired by Loftus' Paul Drinkhall fought back from a game down and withstood the pressures of a baying partisan crowd to book their place in the men's team table tennis final at the expense of India.

Following England women's nail-biting defeat in the bronze medal match with Malaysia, it was up to the men to keep hopes of a team title alive in Delhi. The men last won the team gold in Manchester eight years ago.

Two fine matches from Drinkhall and a decisive 3-0 win by Andrew Baggaley turned things around for the English, who sealed their place in the final against Singapore with a 3-1 victory to silence the noisy fans.

"I was feeling a bit nervous in my final match," said Drinkhall, who honed his talents at Ormesby Table Tennis Club. "I suppose it got to me a little bit but I think the pressure also affected the Indian team with the expectations of the crowd. It's a relief to get the job done."

Elsewhere, it says something for Jo Jackson's luck that, for all the English swimmers dropping like flies in Delhi, the 24-year-old was ill before the plane even touched down in India.

A chest infection, picked up on the flight from British Swimming's training camp, put pay to her chances of a medal haul on the scale of the World Championships.

Richmond's Jackson could only come sixth in the 400m freestyle final, with Rebecca Adlington taking gold and Wales Jaz Carlin the bronze.

* SPAR, there for you and our GB athletes, proud supporters since 2004 www.spar.co.uk