CWG 2010 Medal Tally : India Bags 30 Gold Medals & Still Counting

Discussions regarding India’s performance in the track and field events of the XIX Commonwealth Games were put to rest once and for all at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Monday.

The Indian contingent, led by the trio of Krishna Poonia, Harwant Kaur and Seema Antil, did what no country has ever done in the history of women’s discus throw — they swept the medals for a top- three finish.

Incidentally, this was the first time India had swept all the medals in a single discipline in athletics — a feat that will take some time to beat.

Not only did Krishna break the jinx of the 52- year wait for a gold — Milkha Singh won gold in 440 yards (400m) in the 1958 Games — she also became the first Indian woman to secure the coveted gold.

If the exuberant crowd was anything to go by, it felt as if it was not the Commonwealth Games but the Olympics. But then, they can be forgiven as it’s not often that Indian spectators get to watch such feats.

The pulse inside the stadium when the Indian national anthem was being played to commemorate the trio’s performance was exhilarating. The look of amusement on the faces of the foreign athletes, officials and spectators said it all.

Poonia’s throw of 61.51m wasn’t her best, but she could be forgiven for failing to overcome the goosebumps of performing in front of 45,000 spectators.

Even Harwant (60.16m) and Seema (58.46m) could be forgiven for failing to eclipse their season’s best performances.

But Tintu Luka, looking for gold in the women’s 800m, failed to time her run and floundered in the second lap to come a sixth with a timing of 2: 01.25sec. Inexperience was once again her bane as she failed to keep the tempo going. Gold went to Kenya’s Nancy Lan’gat (2: 00.01sec).

In men’s pole vault, Steve Hooker (Australia) walked away with the gold with a performance of 5.60m.

Even though it was way below his own standard, the level of competition wasn’t intense either.

Having been stripped off the gold in the women’s 100m on Thursday, Sally Pearson avenged the humiliation by not only winning the women’s 100m hurdles, but also clocking a Games’ record timing of 12.67sec.

The women’s 200m final, which had to be deferred due to a protest by Cyprus, took place on Monday. Cayman Islands’ Cydonie Mothersill not only won the gold (22.89sec), but also became the islands’ first gold medallist in the process.

The men’s 3,000m steeplechase was a cake- walk for the Kenyans. While Richard Mateelong came first (8: 16.39sec), Ezekiel Cheboi and Brimin Kipruto came second and third.

In the relay qualifiers, Indians didn’t disappoint as all three teams qualified for the finals. The men’s 10,000m was testimony to the willpower of the African athletes as Uganda’s Moses Kipsiro ran away with gold (27: 57.39sec).

The silver and bronze went to Kenya’s Daniel Salel and Joseph Birech.