New Delhi, October 6
Hosts India maintained their gold rush with shooter Gagan Narang showing the way in the 19th Commonwealth Games here today.
Gagan Narang team mate and Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra to retain the individual gold medal in 10m air rifle event after having struck gold in the pairs event yesterday. Ronjan Sodhi and Asher Noria claimed the silver in double trap pairs event
for the second shooting medal.
Narang equalled his own world record score of perfect 600 in the qualifiers before clinching the title with a total score of 703.6, which also bettered his own world mark of 703.5 set in the ISSF World Cup final in Bangkok two years ago. Bindra shot a total 698.0, including 595 in the qualifiers, to bag the silver.
Wrestler Rajender Kumar and weightlifter Renu Bala Chanu added the other two gold medals. Rajender overpowered Azhar Husain of Pakistan 11-0 to bag the 55kg gold in Greco-Roman while Sunil Kumar accounted for the 66kg bronze.
Renu Bala Chanu won the first gold for India in lifting when she won the 58kg gold. She hauled 197 kg for
the gold, which was 5kg more than the silver-winning feat. Somdev Devvarman, Sania Mirza and Rushmi Chakarvarti moved into the singles quarter-finals in tennis. Sania and Rushmi also made the quarter-final grade in women’s doubles.
The Indian men’s team made it to the final of the 4X200m freestyle relay in the Commonwealth Games at the Dr SPM Aquatics Complex. Rehan Poncha, Rohit Havaldar, Madar Divase and Aaron D’Souza clocked 7 minutes 49.20 seconds to grab the eighth position in the preliminaries.
Virdhawal Khade qualified for the semifinals of the men’s 100m freestyle after finishing 13th, while Pooja Alva entered the semifinals of the women’s 100m butterfly by bagging the 15th spot.
Para- swimmer Sachin Verma progressed to the final of the 50m S9 freestyle men category by finishing eighth.
Athletics