CWG: India get 100 medals, race on with England for second spot (Intro Afternoon Lead)

NEW DELHI - India won 100 medals at the Commownealth Games, its higest in the Games’ history, and battle is on with England for the second spot in the overall medals table on the concluding of the biggest sporting event the country has hosted since the Asian Games in 1982.

A gold in badminton women’s doubles from Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, a silver in men’s hockey and two bronze from table tennis Thursday took the medal count to 100 and one more medal, possibly gold, is expected from Saina Nehwal in badminton singles before the curtains come down on the Games that started with a spectacular opening ceremony on Oct 3.

The Indian gold count at 1400 hours IST was 37. With 27 silver and 36 bronze the total was 100.

Hours before the end of the Games, India and England were in close race for the second spot on the medals table as both had 37 gold. England, however, have more silver — 58 to India’s 27 — and 45 bronze.

While Jwala and Ashwini just took 39 minutes to pack off Singapore’s top-seeded duo Yao Lei and Sari Shinta Mulia 21-16, 21-19, the men’s hockey squad were thrashed by world champion Australia in the final of the event 0-8.

Jwala and Ashwini received a standing ovation from the packed hall at the Siri Fort Complex for their splendid showing in the finals.

However, the men’s hockey team were no match to Australia who scored four goals in the first half and an equal number in the second.

The Indian men could not score a single goal despite the thousands of spectators — led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself — at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium cheering them on.

Singh was at the stadium at the start of the match and was seated in the VIP enclosure along with many hockey greats.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal and CWG Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi were also present at the venue.

The bronze came from Mouma Das and Poulomi Ghatak in the table tennis doubles. They beat Peri Campbell-Innes and Vivian Tan (AUS) 11-4, 11-7, 11-1 at the Yamuna Sports Complex on Thursday. The second bronze was won by Sharath Kamal in an all-Indian battle. He beat Soumyadeep Roy 11-8, 11-5, 12-10, 11-9.

The curtain comes down on the Games later Thursday with a laser show. While the opening ceremony showcased cultural diversity, the closing will highlight contemporary India.