New Delhi, October 6
Gagan Narang has a polite and a sporting message for Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra as he raced to his second gold medal and sixth Commonwealth Games gold medal on the second day of shooting competitions here today.

While Gagan and Abhinav gave India a pair of gold and silver medals in the 10m Air Pistol (individual) event, the 44-year-old Anisa Sayyed and Omkar Singh in 50 m Pistol for men also continued India's gold hunt for the second successive day.

In the four medal events decided on Tuesday, India got three gold medals and a silver. Ronjan Sodhi and Asher Noria bagged the silver in Pairs Double Trap finishing behind English pair of Scott Stevenson and Mark Russell.

Gagan Narang, who has been in an excellent form, not only shot 10-plus scores in the final shoot off to set a new Commonwealth Games record of 703.6 - his qualification round score was a perfect 600 - but also beat more fancied Abhinav Bindra to second spot.

While Gagan Narang made a perfect 100 in each of the six qualifying round shoots, Abhinav had three perfect rounds of 100 each after starting with 99 in the first, followed by a score of 98 in the second and again 98 in the fourth to return a score of 595. In the final shoot out, while Gagan Narang continued to be accurate, Abhinav had lapse of concentration in the first and fourth shots. The only time Gagan shot below 10 was his second round when he scored 9.6.

Gagan has now taken his personal Commonwealth Games gold tally to six. Incidentally he has become the first athlete to win a gold double so far. Anisa Sayyed followed him shortly afterwards with a record breaking individual gold in 25 m Pistol final with a new record of 7864. yesterday, she had paired up with Sarnobat rahi to win the 25 m Pistol (Pairs) gold.

And today like Gaga-Abhinav team, Anisa and Sarnobat also ended with gold-silver double. Sarnobat Rahi scored 781.0 to finish behind Anisa.

Omkar Singh, who partnered Deepak Sharma tio silver in 50 m Pistol (Pairs) for en yesterday, today gave the country its fifth shooting gold medal with a score of 653.6 pushing Gai Bin and Lim Swie Han of Singapore to second and third positions. Yesterday, Gai Bin and Lim Swee had paired to beat Omkar and Deepak in the battle for the gold.

Omkar shot well in the shoot off after registering a score of 557 in the qualification for the final, a just a point behind Gai Bin. But in the shoot out, it was Omkar who notched up 96.6 against 91.6 by Gai Bin.

New Delhi, October 6
Indian shooting stars who won three golds and three silvers at the Games said that their performance on the home turf might finally bring along the long-delayed recognition to the sport.

While Gagan Narang said the pressures of competing on the home soil made much of the difference, Anisa Sayyed who clamined a gold in 25m women's pistol event attributed her success to her husband and coach who stood by her through the worst times.

Even as he was flooded with questions comparing him and Bindra, Narang dismissed any talk of rivalry between the two.

"When I was still trying to get into my shooting shoes, I heard about Abhinav. It feels very nice to compete with him. We compete with each other and it is not that we are competing against each other, because shooting is an individual sport. Over the past two weeks, we had a good time. There is a lot to learn from each other," he said.

Fondly remembering the days when she didn’t even know that shooting was a sport, Anisa said, “There were times I used to work as a teacher at a monthly pay of Rs 1500. I would use all of that money for my shooting practices. I was the best shooter in the NCC camp back then.

New Delhi, October 6
Ravikumar Katulu and Renu Bala Chanu Yumnam have at last ended India’s gold draught in weightlifting. They not only gave India its first weightlifting gold double but also ended medal less spree in the event since yesterday.

They have taken India’s weightlifting medal tally so far to six two gold, two silver and two bronze medals.

Ravikumar Katulu did it in style setting new Commonwealth games records in snatch, clean and jerk and total besides a new Commonwealth Weightlifting record in snatch.

After Renu Bala’s gold in the 58 kg category, things started looking up for in the sport in the next few days as the competitions in the 2010 Commonwealth Games head towards climax. Ravikumar continued from where Renu Bala had left.

Ravikumar in 69 kg category had set himself in the leadership position from the word go with a starting snatch of 138 kg which he subsequently successfully raised to 146 kg, 9 kg above the second placed Talib Ferrel of Malaysia. Unfortunately, Talib had to be disqualified for his failure to register even a single clean and jerk,

Ravikumar by clearing 146 kg in snatch got past the previous Commonwealth record of Muhammad Irfan of Pakistan that stood at 140 kg. When he hoisted 175 kg in clean and jerk inhis second attempt, he not only set aCommonwealth games record in the lift but also ctreated a new aggregate record of 321 kg against previous record of 313 kg. Christian Vidanage of Sri Lanka, who cleared 174 in clean and jerk ended with a silver medal by aggregating 308 kg. He had earlier improved upon the previous Commonwealth games clean and jerk record of 173 kg.

The bronze in the event to Mansor Hafifi of Malaysia who aggregated 306 kg, 137 kg in snatch and 169 kg in clean and jerk.

Renu Bala Chanu cleared 90 kg in snatch and followed it up with 107 kg in clean and jerk. She aggregated 197 kg that gave her a gold medal. In fact her third attempt to clear 113 kg in clean and jerk was unsuccessful.

Lee Seen of Australia took the silver by aggregating 192 kg and Zoe Smith of England got the bronze medal. Canadians lifters - Emily Quartran and Anni Moniqui finished fifth and sixth.

India had started the weightlifting campaign with two silver and two bronze medals on the first day with Soniya Chanu and Sandhya Rani completing a silver-bronze double in the 48 kg category, while Sukken Dey and VS Rao followed up with the same returns in the 56 kg for men.

New Delhi, October 6
Seedings held firm as men's top seed Somdev Devvarman and women's second seed Sania Mirza sailed into the quarter-finals of the tennis events of the 19th Commonwealth Games at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association courts here today. India also produced a surprise winner in the women's singles in Rushmi Chakravarthy who devoured the third seed to enter the quarters.

However, Rohan Bopanna was unlucky to bump into men's second seed Peter Luzak of Australia in the men's singles second round, and crashed out in straight sets at 6-2, 7-6 (5).

Devvarman made short work of Amresh Jayawickreme of Sri Lanka 6-0, 6-1 in 41 minutes, which was a great consolation for the World No 100 after his tough first round match yesterday, against the left-handed Devin Mullings of Bahamas.

Women's second seed Sania Mirza too preferred it wrap up her singles match against Britany Teei of Cook Islands without expending much energy, at 6-0,6-2, in 54 minutes. Rushmi Chakravarty stormed into the quarter-final when she fought back from a set down, to shock third-seeded Katie O'Brien of England 1-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5 in an energy-sapping two-hour contest.

Rohan, challenging second seed and world number 133 Australian Peter Luczak, came a cropper as he went down in one hour and 37 minutes.

Bopanna, ranked 587, came to this tournament after a morale-boosting show in the Davis Cup tie against world number 23 Thomaz Bellucci and top-100 player Ricardo Melo of Brazil in Chennai last month. But he fell short against Luczak, though he went down fighting like a hero.

Bopanna displayed his aggressive game but allowed his rival to get away as he had better control over his strokes and was able to exploit the chinks in the Indian's armour.

A double fault and an unforced error gave Luczak his first break chance but Bopanna came up with his fourth ace to save that. The Australian, mounting pressure, exploited another forehand error from Bopanna to forge ahead.

Bopanna had a chance to break back in the next game but the composed Australian served well to deny the Indian any leeway.

Bopanna saved two breakpoints in the sixth game with consecutive aces but failed to curb unforced errors which cost him the eighth game to lose the first set.

The second set went with serve to be decided in the tie-break.

Bopanna lost the tie-break despite taking a 4-1 lead as Luczak won five points in a row and sealed victory with a forehand winner.

Bopanna is already out of the mixed doubles but he will pair up with Somdev in the men's doubles.

New Delhi, October 6
Indian grapplers gave more reasons to cheer as they rounded off another good day by bagging four medals, including one gold, in the Greco-Roman style wrestling competition at the Commonwealth Games, here today.

Rajender Kumar won gold in the 55kg category while Manoj Kumar (84kg) had to be content with a silver medal. Sunil Kumar and Dharmender Dalal bagged bronze medals in the 66kg and 120kg categories respectively.

Rajender started the medal rush for the hosts, overpowering Pakistan's Azhar Hussain 11-0 in a one-sided final to fetch the gold and then Sunil overwhelmed Brett Hawthorn of Wales 14-0 in bronze medal play-off bout.

Manoj, however, failed make it two golds for India as he lost to Joe Efionayi Agbonavbare 2-7 in hard-fought final of the 84kg.

Dharmender drew curtains to the day on a high, clinching bronze in the 120kg after blanking Varntan Aparian of Cyprus 12-0 in the play-off bout.

It all started with Rajender's gold as he showed great class against Azhar and raced to 5-0 lead in the opening period, flipping his Pakistani rival twice.

Jolted by Rajender's lead, Azhar came out on an aggressive mood.

Despite suffering a hard blow Rajender kept his nerves and pinned his opponent in the second period to pocket the gold.

Rajender had earlier defeated Sri Lanka's Kumara Yaparathna 14-0 in the qualification round and then outclassed Canadian Promise Mwenga, who won the bronze, 11-0 in the semifinal.

It was disappointment for the hosts in the 84kg final as Manoj lost to Agbonavbare.

New Delhi, October 6
It was women power to the fore at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium here tonight as two girls from Punjab led India’s performance on the track with superb runs to qualify for the semifinals of the women’s 400m. Manjeet Kaur of Jalandhar and Mandeep Kaur of Tarn Taran ran their heats in under 53 seconds to make the cut.

While Mandeep ran her heats with a time of 52.48 seconds, Manjeet was first during her heats with a timing of 52.75. Manjeet has been struggling with injury for the past year and the race was marking her return to the top flight. The pressure was on the Jalandhar girl but she delivered in style and also ran the curves especially well.

“I think I ran a good race. There is still a long way to go, but I am happy with my performance. I think it must be my season best, I haven’t checked it, but sure felt like it,” said an exasperated Manjeet after her race.

But it was disappointment for the men as they failed to put in a medal-worthy performance in the 5000m race.

The race was dominated by Ndiema Moses of Uganda who won the gold with a timing of 13.31.25. The silver went to Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge (13.31.32), while his compatriot Kosgey Kiptoo won the bronze with a timing of 13.32.58.

India’s Sunil Kumar and Sandip Kumar were a lowly 14th and 16th, respectively.

New Delhi, October 6
Defending champions Australia took full points from hosts India to score second win from as many matches in the 2010 Commonwealth Games women's' hockey tournament here today. Leading 1-0 at the lemon break, Australia added another goal before Ritu Rani reduced the margin four minutes from the end of the game.

India with one point from two games has now to play bottom of the pool Trinidad and Tobago and formidable South Africans in their remaining games.

India started well putting pressure on the Australians as they had forced four penalty corners in first nine minutes of the game. But inability to convert any of them deprived them of the initial advantage. In fact, neither Indians nor Australians could make use of any of the penalty corners in the match. Australia had 10 and India six.

It was Australia who set the scoring in motion when Shelly Liddelow combining well with Fiona Boyce had the Indian defence split wide open and scored with Dipika Murty hopelessly out of position.

Fione Boyce intercepted a free hit from outside the circle well to beat Dipika Murty hands down for the second goal for her team. It came in the 58th minute.

Indian girls looked jittery. Their attacks tapered off moment they entered the striking circle. Only serious goal attempts made by them included the one that saw Rani Rampal scoring the home team's only goal of the game.

Ritu Rani, the second top scorer of the last World Cup and skipper Surinder kaur, playing as centre-forward, were off colour and so was Jasjeet Kaur Handa. After first 15 minutes, it appeared nothing was working well for the home girls who had lost the final to the Australians in the last edition of the games in Melbourne four years ago.

New Delhi, October 6
This is boxing’s golden age in India. The sport has delivered in terms of performances, players are making money out of it and, the big one, it is pulling in the crowds. Amid stories about low attendance at the Commonwealth Games, it was a welcome relief to see a big crowd pack in at the Talkatora Indoor stadium as India’s Jai Bhagwan took centre stage here today.

And the Commonwealth Games Gold medalist did not disappoint as he indulged in some real hard punching sessions to beat Nauru’s Colan Caleb 11-1. Jai, who is also an Asian silver medalist, started with a little caution and was leading after the first round by the narrowest of margins (2-1).

But in the second round, the 25-year-old more than made up for a slow start. He threw weighed punches in a beautiful flurry, to the absolute and stunned amazement of his opponent. It finally seemed that the Haryana lad was beginning to do justice to his billing of a pre-bout favourite. His dominance meant that he ended the second round with a clean round score of 5-0 and an overall lead of 7-1.

The third round started with the Indian in no mood to let the match finish on a defensive or drab note. He immediately cut Caleb twice and took his overall lead to 9-1. He then, using his height advantage, kept his opponent at bay and ended the third round with a round score of 4-0, and thereby winning the bout 11-1.

He, thereby, became the third pugilist to enter the pre-quarter-finals on Wednesday and now meets Tanzania’s Nasser Mafuru, who defeated Papua New Guinea’s Andrew Opugu 6-1.

New Delhi, October 6
Until two months ago, Prashant Karmakar, India’s medal hope in CWG’s para sports category, didn’t even have the money to buy a swimming costume. Today, as always, he swam against all odds to strike a bronze for India in the 50 metre freestyle S9 category, one among the para swimming events that kicked off at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Swimming Pool Complex here. This was India’s first CWG medal in swimming.

“I am thrilled to make it though I would have preferred gold,” an elated Prashant told The Tribune, hopes of a brighter future shining through his eyes. At a distance stood his old, frail parents -- father Shanti Karmakar and mother Vibha - who came all the way from West Bengal to see their son do India proud.

“We are humbled,” remarked the athlete’s father who, at 65, is no longer fit to work. A former truck driver who earned meagerly for his family, Shanti was diagnosed with severe asthma and suggested rest. He admits he never really supported his son’s ambitions.

“Not that he bothered me ever. I am very touched today,” said a proud father, who had to swap tickets with his younger son to watch the final after the Swimming Federation of India failed to offer the passes which para athletes requested for their families. For the final, Prashant’s brother Jayant stood outside the stadium, having swapped the pass with his father. He was happy to have watched the heats this morning.

The family is as such used to odds, so is Prashant, who lost his right arm in an accident when he was seven. “I took to swimming at 16. Since then, I have been struggling to train and get sponsorship,” he says, saluting his senior para swimmer Sukhbir Singh from Haryana, who pulled him out if Bengal to train in Haryana. For seven years, Prashant has been representing Haryana in para swimming, shining at every national meet; he has won 30 international medals for India, including the one today. Ranked third in Asia, he won a bronze at the International German Swimming Championship for the Disabled in June.

Elosie Amberger and Sarah Bombell of Australia perform in the women’s synchronized swimming in New Delhi on Wednesday. — Reuters

The popular mascot of the Games, Shera, is very unhappy these days. During the build-up to the event, Shera in his adorable costumes and with affable manners was probably the only silver lining amid the largely negative reports the organisers had been getting for their poor preparations. The 22-year-old Satish Bidla, the real man under the garb of Shera, was nowhere on the stage on a day when the Games really took off. Bidla says he was denied a role on the opening ceremony even as it was he who had been moving around the city for weeks to connect the Games with the people. Thankfully, many organising committee members seem to realise that he was dealt harshly. They say Shera would have a lot to do during the closing ceremony and his grouses would evaporate.

Thumbs-up for transport

The games organisers have just got another pat on their backs. The Commonwealth Games Observer Committee has lauded New Delhi's transport system. A team of committee experts visited the newly constructed grand bus depot near the Games Village to inspect the working of the transportation system. Commending the DTC's excellent measures to smoothen road travel without compromising security, committee members have said they were impressed with the arrangements. The objective of the visit was to formulate ways to improve the next Commonwealth Games, scheduled to be held in Glasgow in 2014.

Tourism industry looks to future

A good beginning to the Games has given the tourism industry some reasons to cheer. Left disappointed by lack of tourists, it believes that the Games organisers, state and central government besides the Organising Committee, have sold it down the river. The hotel owners and others related with the service sector were given rosy projections by the officials about the tourist arrival and made to invest large sums to upgrade their facilities. As the Games are very much underway, the reality for the industry is grim. But successful opening ceremony has made hotel owners and others hopeful that the city’s profile would increase among the rich foreign tourists. They are unlikely to recoup their investment this year but if all goes well then the tourist arrival could see a major boost in coming years

Hits and misses

Swimming, badminton, tennis and hockey have turned out to be the biggest crowd pullers at the Commonwealth Games. The finals for tennis and badminton are sold out, and so are hockey matches featuring India. "All the tickets for the India-Australia hockey match tomorrow have been sold. There are a lot of enquiries for tennis, badminton, swimming and hockey events," an official at the ticketing office said. According to the official, most people seem to be eager to watch the semi-finals or finals of various events. Empty seats for various events have caused worry among the organizers but spectators numbers are increasing by the day. The organisers are appealing to people to buy tickets and "cheer the sports stars as they compete for the first place”.

(Kumar Rakesh, Himani Chandel, Jyoti Rai)

Bangalore, October 6
Indian batting icon Sachin Tendulkar today bagged his maiden ICC Cricketer of the Year trophy along with the People's Choice Award, while compatriot Virender Sehwag was named the Test Cricketer of the Year at a glittering ceremony here. Tendulkar, who has an international career spanning over two decades, clinched the coveted trophy by beating South African Hashim Amla, Englishman Graeme Swann and Sehwag.

"It's better late than never. I am getting the award in the 21st year of my career, so it's fantastic. I have been working hard for this award," Tendulkar said after receiving the honour.

Tendulkar, who made his debut as a 16-year-old against Pakistan way back in November 15, 1989, was also named the winner of LG People's Choice Award.

"To play well is a challenge that you take in your stride and work hard to perform. I am doing this for the last 21 years and I take a lot of pride to play for my country," Tendulkar said.

India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named captain of the ICC's World Test XI, while Australia was chosen as the best ODI team of the period between August 2009 and 2010.

South African AB de Villiers clinched the ICC ODI Player of the Year award.

England fast bowler Steven Finn, who played in six Test matches in the voting period and took 27 wickets at an average of 21.85, won the ICC Emerging Player of the Year Award.

New Zealand swashbuckler Brendon McCullum's blistering 56-ball unbeaten 116 against Australia in Christchurch was adjudged the ICC Twenty20 International Performance of the Year.

Spirit of the Game Award went to New Zealand and Aleem Dar of Pakistan won the ICC Umpire of the Year trophy.

No dopers in Games so far

Children bring CP back to life

Folwell wins gymnastics gold

England took gold and silver in the Commonwealth Games men's individual all-around gymnastics today, with Luke Folwell leading Reiss Beckford, ahead of Australia's Joshua Jefferis in third. Folwell, 23, from Cambridgeshire, scored 85.550 points with Beckford on 85.450 and Jefferis on 84.750. Folwell, a bronze team medallist in Melbourne four years ago, took the lead after four of the six rotations and stayed on top to go one better than the silver medal he won on Monday in the team event. Australia missed out on gold having won both the men's and women's team events. — AFP


England’s gold medallist Luke Folwell celebrates after winning the artistic men’s individual all-around final. — Reuters