CWG Day 6: England takes second spot
Track the latest news, results and gossip coming from the Common wealth Games 2010 in New Delhi, India.
The sixth day of the Commonwealth Games saw India and England battle it out for the second spot on the medals table, with Australia leading by considerable margin.
Security will be tight in the streets in and around New Delhi on Sunday as the cycling road races take place with Tour de France hero Mark Cavendish competing for the Isle of Man, AFP reports.
With the swimming programme completed, athletics take centrestage and there will be eight gold medals on the line in a busy evening schedule including the men's and women's 200m and men's and women's 400m hurdles.
9:40pm
Standings after Saturday's matches in the Commonwealth Games men's field hockey competition as reported by AFP.
Pool A
Pool B
8:20pm
Leisel Jones etched herself on to the list of Australian swimming greats with her 10th Commonwealth Games gold medal on Saturday to become the joint most successful athlete in the 80 years of the multi-sport event, Reuters reports.
The 25-year-old swam a superb second leg in breaststroke to fire her team to victory in the 4x100m medley and take her place alongside fellow Australian swimmers Susie O'Neill and Ian Thorpe in achieving the feat.
"To be up there with names like that is something very special," a smiling Jones told reporters.
"That is a great way to finish off a really good meet and to know that people like Ian Thorpe and Susie O'Neill have done it before you that is even better."
She could have had the record on her own but she was beaten into second place in the 50m breaststroke on Tuesday.
"Ten is a lovely round number," the Melbourne-born swimmer said, a day after she became the first athlete to win two Commonwealth events for three consecutive years.
7:35pm
Twitter reactions on Sania Mirza's defeat:
7:20pm
Boxer Haroon Khan, brother of light-welterweight world champion Amir, said the England selectors who shunned him should be embarrassed after he guaranteed Pakistan a Commonwealth Games medal on Saturday, Reuters reports.
Tommy Stubbs was England's representative in the 52kg flyweight category in Delhi but he was beaten in his first fight by Welshman Andrew Selby, who Khan edged on a countback in the quarter-finals on Saturday to earn at least a bronze medal.
"Yes, definitely," the excitable Khan told a swarm of mainly English media when asked if the country's selectors should be embarrassed by their decision to overlook him.
"Whoever the selectors are, my job was to come here and prove them wrong which I have done. My aim was to get a medal, the 52 kilo English lad didn't get it, I have got it," said Khan, who spoke as quickly as he moved in the ring.
6:45pm
India's Sania Mirza on Saturday lost in the final of the women’s singles at the Commonwealth Games to Anastasia Rodionova of Autralia 6-3, 2-6, 7-6, AFP reports.
6:20pm
Alicia Coutts on Saturday picked up her fifth gold medal of the Games and breaststroke star Leisel Jones won the 10th of her Commonwealth career after Australia's women romped to relay victory, AFP reports.
The foursome won the 4x100m medley relay in 3:56.99, nearly four seconds ahead of England, with Canada in bronze.
Meanwhile, Australia won the men's 4x100m medley relay at the Commonwealth Games in a new record time.
The foursome came from behind after a strong backstroke leg by world champion Liam Tancock of England to finish in 3:33.15, about half a second inside the previous best set in Melbourne four years ago.
Sinvie Boltic of Nigeria won the men's 96kg freestyle wrestling gold medal, beating Canadian Korey Jarvis in the final.
Olympic and world champion Valerie Adams of New Zealand obliterated her own Commonwealth Games record to easily win the women's shot put gold medal.
Adams, formally Vili, threw a new Commonwealth mark of 20.47m on her first attempt and hoisted the shot over 20m on each of her next five throws to comfortably defend her title.
5:10pm
India's Gagan Narang won his fourth gold medal on Saturday as the hosts continued to dominate the shooting medals at the Commonwealth Games.
England's Anita North won the gold in the women's singles Trap event at the Commonwealth Games.
Canada beat Trinidad and Tobago 2-0 in a Commonwealth Games men's Pool B hockey match.
Scotland's Hannah Miley won the women's 400m individual medley gold in a new Commonwealth Games record.
The 21-year-old swam a superb second half of the race to finish in 4:38.03.
4:40pm
Commonwealth Games organisers continued to wrestle with the riddle of why crowds were so sparse at venues when so many tickets had been sold, while health issues continued to dog athletes in Delhi on Saturday, AFP reports.
Officials maintain ticket sales for the October 3-14 event are closing on the million mark but rows of empty seats marked most venues on the sixth day of competition.
"We are receiving several reports people are going to ticket offices and being told there are no tickets available when there are empty seats in the venues," Games Federation chief Michael Fennell told a morning news conference.
"We have been promised this morning that there will be a full investigation as something is not right with these ticket sales and the reports that we have been receiving."
The ticketing issue is just the latest in a string of problems to hit the $6 billion Games, which India had hoped would display its ability to run a world class event but instead has increasingly become an embarrassment to the nation.
4:30pm
South Africa's Natalie Du Toit on Saturday won the women's 100m butterfly S9 event, taking her tally to three golds in her last Commonwealth Games, AFP reports.
Duncan Busby of England won the men's individual compound archery gold at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi on Saturday, adding to his first title in the compound team competition.
Jessica Schipper of Australia held off a strong challenge from Canada's Audrey Lacroix to defend her women's Commonwealth Games 200m butterfly crown.
Canada's Brent Hayden made it a sprint gold double after winning the men's 50m freestyle in a new Commonwealth Games record.
The 26-year-old's time of 22.01 seconds was 0.02 of a second inside the previous best by Roland Schoeman of South Africa.
Samoa's Faavae Faauliuli won the Commonwealth Games men's 94kg weightlifting title edging Scotland's Peter Kirkbride on the final lift of the competition.
Meanwhile New Zealand beat Canada 3-1 in a Commonwealth Games women's Pool B hockey match, while Holders Australia booked a berth in the semi-finals with a 5-2 victory against Scotland.
3:50pm
Results for Lightweight Boxing for the Commonwealth Games, as reported by AFP:
As the games continue, so does the twittercism:
3:30pm
Nigerian table tennis player Ekundayo Nasiru has pulled out of the men's singles competition at the Commonwealth Games because of malaria, reports Reuters.
Nasiru's withdrawal from the qualifiers leaves Nigeria with only four fit players in the men's team. Monday Merotohun, men's doubles gold medallist at the Melbourne Games four years ago, was concerned he would not be able to defend his title due to his partner's illness.
There was no indication as to whether Nasiru had contracted the disease in Delhi and Nigerian Chef de Mission Elias Usman Gora told Reuters he had yet to receive a report on the matter.
2:30pm
Express 24/7 reports that Pakistani weightlifter Shujah Malik is out of the Commonwealth Games. He fell while lifting 140KG in the 94KG category. Malik has been barred from participating in the games after being declared unfit.
Malik is the same athlete who had the flag snatched from him at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games.
1:30pm
The Commonwealth Games have plunged into a racism storm after South African swimmer Roland Schoeman described a largely Indian crowd of acting like "monkeys", reports AFP. Schoeman, a former world record holder, was furious that the noise generated at the start of his 50m freestyle semi-final meant he entered the water too early.
"It's unacceptable to be at a professional event like this and have people going on like monkeys. Someone like that doesn't deserve to be here," fumed the South African who was allowed to restart and qualified for Saturday's final.
"It's an absolute disgrace. There's a guy in the stands just shouting, shouting, shouting. Somebody like that needs to be ejected."
Lalit Bhanot, the secretary general of the organising committee, condemned the remarks as "unfortunate" while Mike Fennell, the president of the Commonwealth Games Federation, said any racist outbursts would not be tolerated.
1:15pm
AFP reports that investigations are underway to unravel the mystery of the missing fans, as Commonwealth Games bosses insist that ticket revenue has reached the million dollar mark.
Organising committee secretary general Lalit Bhanot said that ticket sales have generated almost a million dollars and that almost 55,000 tickets were sold on Friday.
However, he admitted that there was an issue with tickets not taken up by sponsors or their guests.
The Hindustan Times claimed that 3,000 tickets marked as 'complimentary' had been given away to a scrap paper dealer.
1:00pm
England's Nicky Hunt wins gold in women's compound archery.
12:45pm
India's Vijay Kumar and Harpreet Singh win the gold medal in the men's 25m Centrefire Pistol Pairs event.
England defeat Malaysia 3-0 in a Commonwealth Games women's Pool B hockey match.
12:10pm
And trouble at the Commonwealth Games continues, as a stray dog ran across the finish line and onto the playing field as a women's 400m hurdle heat was about to begin, reports AFP.
The dog managed to avoid officials and ran out the exit, after officials tried cornering it.
Athletes have also had to deal with low flying birds swooping down on the field.
12:00pm
Malaysian hockey player, Faizal Saari, was suspended for two matches after being involved in an on-field incident with Scotland goalkeeper Alister McGregor during their league match.
Saari was charged under a level 2 offence of FIH's code of conduct which deals with physical assault without causing serious injury.
11:45am
Australia's Jared Tallent won the men's 20 kilometres walk gold medal in a time of 1:22.18, reports AFP. His teammate Luke Adams took silver for the third consecutive Games while India's Harminder Singh won bronze.
While England's Jo Jackson claimed the women's 20 kilometre walk gold medal in a time of 1:34.22. Her achievement breaks a 20-year stranglehold of the event by Australia, whose top walker, Claire Tallent, had to settle for silver. Kenya's Grace Njue took the bronze.
Australian husband and wife Jared and Claire Tallent had a day to remember when both medalled in the Commonwealth Games 20km walk.
"We try to help each other out. She helps me, I help her. It's great," said Jared. "This is special. It's right up there for me. I'm feeling ecstatic."
England defeated New Zealand 5-3 in their Pool B hockey match.
Malaysia's Taibi Nur Suryani Mohammed and Nur Ayuni Halim won the gold medal in the women's 10m air rifle pairs event.
Australia defeated Pakistan 1-0 in their Pool A hockey match.
Security will be tight in the streets in and around New Delhi on Sunday as the cycling road races take place with Tour de France hero Mark Cavendish competing for the Isle of Man, AFP reports.
With the swimming programme completed, athletics take centrestage and there will be eight gold medals on the line in a busy evening schedule including the men's and women's 200m and men's and women's 400m hurdles.
9:40pm
Standings after Saturday's matches in the Commonwealth Games men's field hockey competition as reported by AFP.
Pool A
| Country | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points |
| Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Pakistan | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| India | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Malaysia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Scotland | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Pool B
| Country | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points |
| England | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| New Zealand | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| South Africa | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Canada | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Trinidad & Tobago | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
8:20pm
Leisel Jones etched herself on to the list of Australian swimming greats with her 10th Commonwealth Games gold medal on Saturday to become the joint most successful athlete in the 80 years of the multi-sport event, Reuters reports.
The 25-year-old swam a superb second leg in breaststroke to fire her team to victory in the 4x100m medley and take her place alongside fellow Australian swimmers Susie O'Neill and Ian Thorpe in achieving the feat.
"To be up there with names like that is something very special," a smiling Jones told reporters.
"That is a great way to finish off a really good meet and to know that people like Ian Thorpe and Susie O'Neill have done it before you that is even better."
She could have had the record on her own but she was beaten into second place in the 50m breaststroke on Tuesday.
"Ten is a lovely round number," the Melbourne-born swimmer said, a day after she became the first athlete to win two Commonwealth events for three consecutive years.
7:35pm
Twitter reactions on Sania Mirza's defeat:
7:20pm
Boxer Haroon Khan, brother of light-welterweight world champion Amir, said the England selectors who shunned him should be embarrassed after he guaranteed Pakistan a Commonwealth Games medal on Saturday, Reuters reports.
Tommy Stubbs was England's representative in the 52kg flyweight category in Delhi but he was beaten in his first fight by Welshman Andrew Selby, who Khan edged on a countback in the quarter-finals on Saturday to earn at least a bronze medal.
"Yes, definitely," the excitable Khan told a swarm of mainly English media when asked if the country's selectors should be embarrassed by their decision to overlook him.
"Whoever the selectors are, my job was to come here and prove them wrong which I have done. My aim was to get a medal, the 52 kilo English lad didn't get it, I have got it," said Khan, who spoke as quickly as he moved in the ring.
6:45pm
India's Sania Mirza on Saturday lost in the final of the women’s singles at the Commonwealth Games to Anastasia Rodionova of Autralia 6-3, 2-6, 7-6, AFP reports.
6:20pm
Alicia Coutts on Saturday picked up her fifth gold medal of the Games and breaststroke star Leisel Jones won the 10th of her Commonwealth career after Australia's women romped to relay victory, AFP reports.
The foursome won the 4x100m medley relay in 3:56.99, nearly four seconds ahead of England, with Canada in bronze.
Meanwhile, Australia won the men's 4x100m medley relay at the Commonwealth Games in a new record time.
The foursome came from behind after a strong backstroke leg by world champion Liam Tancock of England to finish in 3:33.15, about half a second inside the previous best set in Melbourne four years ago.
Sinvie Boltic of Nigeria won the men's 96kg freestyle wrestling gold medal, beating Canadian Korey Jarvis in the final.
Olympic and world champion Valerie Adams of New Zealand obliterated her own Commonwealth Games record to easily win the women's shot put gold medal.
Adams, formally Vili, threw a new Commonwealth mark of 20.47m on her first attempt and hoisted the shot over 20m on each of her next five throws to comfortably defend her title.
5:10pm
India's Gagan Narang won his fourth gold medal on Saturday as the hosts continued to dominate the shooting medals at the Commonwealth Games.
England's Anita North won the gold in the women's singles Trap event at the Commonwealth Games.
Canada beat Trinidad and Tobago 2-0 in a Commonwealth Games men's Pool B hockey match.
Scotland's Hannah Miley won the women's 400m individual medley gold in a new Commonwealth Games record.
The 21-year-old swam a superb second half of the race to finish in 4:38.03.
4:40pm
Commonwealth Games organisers continued to wrestle with the riddle of why crowds were so sparse at venues when so many tickets had been sold, while health issues continued to dog athletes in Delhi on Saturday, AFP reports.
Officials maintain ticket sales for the October 3-14 event are closing on the million mark but rows of empty seats marked most venues on the sixth day of competition.
"We are receiving several reports people are going to ticket offices and being told there are no tickets available when there are empty seats in the venues," Games Federation chief Michael Fennell told a morning news conference.
"We have been promised this morning that there will be a full investigation as something is not right with these ticket sales and the reports that we have been receiving."
The ticketing issue is just the latest in a string of problems to hit the $6 billion Games, which India had hoped would display its ability to run a world class event but instead has increasingly become an embarrassment to the nation.
4:30pm
South Africa's Natalie Du Toit on Saturday won the women's 100m butterfly S9 event, taking her tally to three golds in her last Commonwealth Games, AFP reports.
Duncan Busby of England won the men's individual compound archery gold at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi on Saturday, adding to his first title in the compound team competition.
Jessica Schipper of Australia held off a strong challenge from Canada's Audrey Lacroix to defend her women's Commonwealth Games 200m butterfly crown.
Canada's Brent Hayden made it a sprint gold double after winning the men's 50m freestyle in a new Commonwealth Games record.
The 26-year-old's time of 22.01 seconds was 0.02 of a second inside the previous best by Roland Schoeman of South Africa.
Samoa's Faavae Faauliuli won the Commonwealth Games men's 94kg weightlifting title edging Scotland's Peter Kirkbride on the final lift of the competition.
Meanwhile New Zealand beat Canada 3-1 in a Commonwealth Games women's Pool B hockey match, while Holders Australia booked a berth in the semi-finals with a 5-2 victory against Scotland.
3:50pm
Results for Lightweight Boxing for the Commonwealth Games, as reported by AFP:
Jafet Uutoni (NAM) beat Jason Lavigilante (MRI)
Muhammad Waseem (PAK) beat Duke Micah (GHA)
Paddy Barnes (NIR) beat Andrew Moloney (AUS)
Amandeep Singh (IND) beat Muhamad Fuad (MAS)
As the games continue, so does the twittercism:
3:30pm
Nigerian table tennis player Ekundayo Nasiru has pulled out of the men's singles competition at the Commonwealth Games because of malaria, reports Reuters.
Nasiru's withdrawal from the qualifiers leaves Nigeria with only four fit players in the men's team. Monday Merotohun, men's doubles gold medallist at the Melbourne Games four years ago, was concerned he would not be able to defend his title due to his partner's illness.
There was no indication as to whether Nasiru had contracted the disease in Delhi and Nigerian Chef de Mission Elias Usman Gora told Reuters he had yet to receive a report on the matter.
2:30pm
Express 24/7 reports that Pakistani weightlifter Shujah Malik is out of the Commonwealth Games. He fell while lifting 140KG in the 94KG category. Malik has been barred from participating in the games after being declared unfit.
Malik is the same athlete who had the flag snatched from him at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games.
1:30pm
The Commonwealth Games have plunged into a racism storm after South African swimmer Roland Schoeman described a largely Indian crowd of acting like "monkeys", reports AFP. Schoeman, a former world record holder, was furious that the noise generated at the start of his 50m freestyle semi-final meant he entered the water too early.
"It's unacceptable to be at a professional event like this and have people going on like monkeys. Someone like that doesn't deserve to be here," fumed the South African who was allowed to restart and qualified for Saturday's final.
"It's an absolute disgrace. There's a guy in the stands just shouting, shouting, shouting. Somebody like that needs to be ejected."
Lalit Bhanot, the secretary general of the organising committee, condemned the remarks as "unfortunate" while Mike Fennell, the president of the Commonwealth Games Federation, said any racist outbursts would not be tolerated.
1:15pm
AFP reports that investigations are underway to unravel the mystery of the missing fans, as Commonwealth Games bosses insist that ticket revenue has reached the million dollar mark.
Organising committee secretary general Lalit Bhanot said that ticket sales have generated almost a million dollars and that almost 55,000 tickets were sold on Friday.
However, he admitted that there was an issue with tickets not taken up by sponsors or their guests.
The Hindustan Times claimed that 3,000 tickets marked as 'complimentary' had been given away to a scrap paper dealer.
1:00pm
England's Nicky Hunt wins gold in women's compound archery.
12:45pm
India's Vijay Kumar and Harpreet Singh win the gold medal in the men's 25m Centrefire Pistol Pairs event.
England defeat Malaysia 3-0 in a Commonwealth Games women's Pool B hockey match.
12:10pm
And trouble at the Commonwealth Games continues, as a stray dog ran across the finish line and onto the playing field as a women's 400m hurdle heat was about to begin, reports AFP.
The dog managed to avoid officials and ran out the exit, after officials tried cornering it.
Athletes have also had to deal with low flying birds swooping down on the field.
12:00pm
Malaysian hockey player, Faizal Saari, was suspended for two matches after being involved in an on-field incident with Scotland goalkeeper Alister McGregor during their league match.
Saari was charged under a level 2 offence of FIH's code of conduct which deals with physical assault without causing serious injury.
11:45am
Australia's Jared Tallent won the men's 20 kilometres walk gold medal in a time of 1:22.18, reports AFP. His teammate Luke Adams took silver for the third consecutive Games while India's Harminder Singh won bronze.
While England's Jo Jackson claimed the women's 20 kilometre walk gold medal in a time of 1:34.22. Her achievement breaks a 20-year stranglehold of the event by Australia, whose top walker, Claire Tallent, had to settle for silver. Kenya's Grace Njue took the bronze.
Australian husband and wife Jared and Claire Tallent had a day to remember when both medalled in the Commonwealth Games 20km walk.
"We try to help each other out. She helps me, I help her. It's great," said Jared. "This is special. It's right up there for me. I'm feeling ecstatic."
England defeated New Zealand 5-3 in their Pool B hockey match.
Malaysia's Taibi Nur Suryani Mohammed and Nur Ayuni Halim won the gold medal in the women's 10m air rifle pairs event.
Australia defeated Pakistan 1-0 in their Pool A hockey match.