CWG: India win 31st gold, tally highest in Games (Evening Lead)

NewDelhi– Indian shooters won their 14th gold Tuesday at the Commonwealth Games, taking the gold count to 31, the countrys highest in the history of the Games that started 80 years back as British Empire Games, became British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1954 and Commonwealth Games in 1978.

Heena Sidhu and Annu Raj Singh had the honour of taking India past its highest gold tally of 30, earned eight years ago at Manchester, by winning the gold in the 10-metre air pistol pairs event at the Karni Singh Shooting Range here.

World champion Tejaswini Sawant won the silver in the womens 50-metre prone event and Goldfinger Samresh Jung and Chandrasekhar Kumar Chaudhary got the silver in the mens 25-metre standard pistol pairs event.

At 18 hours Tuesday Indias medal tally read: 31 gold, 25 silver and 28 bronze for a total of 84. With 64 gold, 42 silver and 40 bronze Australia remained table toppers. England were third with 28:49:36.

On Tuesday, 20 gold will be decided in aquatics diving (3), athletics (9), gymnastics rhythmic (1), rugby sevens (1), shooting (4) and weightlifting (2) events.

Among the top Indian stars in action will be Saina Nehwal in womens badminton singles finals, Chetan Ananad and Parupalli Kashyap in mens singles semis and Aparna Balan and Jwala Gutta in womens doubles.

In table tennis, Soumyadeep Roy upset fancied Cai Xiaoli of Singapore 4-1 to enter the semi-finals of the mens singles.

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

A second dope case, also involving a Nigerian athlete, has been found, Commonwealth Games Federation Mike Fennell told reporters.

“We have had a second anti-doping code violation. Nigerias Samuel Okon, a 110-metre hurdler, has tested positive for the same Methylhexaneamine substance,” Fennell said.

Fennell announced Monday that Nigerian athlete Osayemi Oludamola, who was awarded gold in 100 metres race after Australian Sally Pearson was disqualified for false start, had tested positive for Methylhexaneamine substance.

She has been provisionally suspended. A decision on withdrawing her gold medal will be taken after the results of test of her B sample are received.