Inserting fields to MySQL Database through PHP not working - php

Question

I am trying to insert values from gravity form submissions into mysql database using php, but nothing is showing up in my database when I try it:
Here is my code:
add_action("gform_after_submission_17", "push_fields", 10, 2);
function push_fields($entry, $form){
$title = $entry[1];
$location = $entry[1];
global $connection;
$query = ("INSERT INTO events(title, location) VALUES ($title, $location)");
$result = $connection->query($query);
}
I have already connected to the database, as I have used other functions that are pulling data already in the database:
$servername = '127.0.0.1';
$username = '*******';
$password = '*******';
$dbname = '*******';
$connection = new mysqli($servername, $username, $password, $dbname);
if ($connection->connect_error) {
die("Connection failed: " . $connection->connect_error);
}
Please let me know if there is any other info you need.
EDITED (TO TEST FOR ERRORS):
add_action("gform_after_submission_17", "input_fields", 10, 2);
function add_entry($entry){
$title = mysql_real_escape_string($entry[1]);
$location = mysql_real_escape_string($entry[2]);
global $connection;
$query = ("INSERT INTO events(title, location) VALUES ('$title' , '$location')");
$result = mysqli_query($connection, $query) or die(mysqli_error($connection));
if($result){
echo 'Query OK';
}else{
echo 'Query failed';
}
}

Answer 1

This may be unhelpful if you're deliberately connecting to the DB; however, you might consider using the GFAPI.
https://docs.gravityforms.com/api-functions/#add-entry