CWG athletics: Indian women bag 4x400m relay gold. More gold in shooting

Mtoday news

New Delhi, Oct 12 : India won the gold in women’s 4x400 metres relay in track and field at the Commonwealth Games here Tuesday.

The Indian quartet of Manjeet Kaur, Sini Jose, Ashwini Chidananda Akkunji and Mandeep Kaur finished the race in 3:27.77 seconds to get the country’s second track and field gold from the Games here at the majestic Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

 

On Tuesday, women’s discus thrower Krishna Poonia had broken a 52-year jinx in track and field to win the gold after ’Flying Sikh’ Milkha Singh’s golden run in the men’s 400 metres at the Cardiff Games in 1958.

 

Heena Sidhu, Anu Raj Singh bag gold in shooting

Indian shooters bagged a gold medal and two silvers in just an hour on Tuesday. Heena Sidhu and Annu Raj Singh won the yellow metal in the women’s 10 metre air pistol pairs event at the Karni Singh Shooting Range here, giving India its 31st gold medal in the 19th Commonwealth Games and the 14th from shooting.

World champion Tejaswini Sawant won the silver in the women’s 50 metre prone event and ’Goldfinger’ Samresh Jung and Chandrasekhar Kumar Chaudhary got the silver in the men’s 25 metre standard pistol pairs’ event.

In the women’s 10 metre air pistol, India, Australia and Canada were tied for the gold with 759 points. Canada got the bronze on the basis of lesser number of perfect 10s, they shot 14, while India and Australia had 21 each. India bagged the gold on the basis of count-back.

Heena (384) and Annu (375) clinched the 14th gold medal from the shooting range. The silver went to Australian shooters Dina Aspandiyarova (384) and Pamela McKenzie (375) and Canadian duo Dorothy Ludwig (380) and Lynda Hare (379) settled for the bronze.

 

India beat England on penalties to reach Hockey final

India defeated England 5-4 on penalty strokes in a stunning semi-final comeback on Tuesday to move into a Commonwealth Games field hockey final against defending champion Australia.

A large crowd of 19,000 supporters went wild and gave the team a standing ovation when goalkeeper Bharat Kumar stopped Glenn Kirkham’s third penalty stroke and Shivendra Kumar netted the final one.

World champion Australia beat New Zealand 6-2 in the earlier semi-final.

In a nighttime match that grabbed the focus in New Delhi, India rallied from a two-goal deficit to level 3-3 in regulation time. Striker Tushar Khandkar twice came close to scoring the golden goal during extra time but England goalkeeper James Fair stood firm under the bar.

Ace penalty corner specialist Sandeep Singh’s shot off a penalty corner also went wide during the first half of extra time.

For England, Ashley Jackson scored twice off the penalty corners -- on either side of the halftime -- and also hit the upright off the fourth to miss a hat-trick. Simon Mantell’s powerful drag flick off an indirect penalty corner also went into the net as England led 3-1.