India finally lifted the Commonwealth Games gloom on Sunday as a wave of patriotic emotion super-charged their gold medal count and sparked a seven-goal rout of bitter hockey rivals Pakistan.
After a week of depressing tales of corruption, botched organization and embarrassing blunders, the country’s athletes clicked into gear.
Somdev Devvarman clinched men’s tennis gold, 800m runner Tintu Luka brought the house down at the track with a blistering qualifying run, while a 19,000 crowd roared India to a 7-3 win over Pakistan and a place in the hockey semi-finals.
Photo: AFP
The hosts also won more gold in shooting and wrestling, with national poster boy Sushil Kumar, a rare world champion in the country, cruising to 66kg gold.
By the end of the day, India had won 29 gold to England’s 26, striking a crucial blow in their cat-and-mouse duel to finish runners-up to Australia.
At a jam-packed Major Dhyan Chand Stadium, and with members of the country’s political elite looking on, Sandeep Singh starred as India trounced Pakistan to storm into the semi-finals of the hockey in a do-or-die encounter.
Faced with the prospect of elimination before the knock-out rounds, India responded in style to set up a semi-final showdown against England, with world champions Australia set to face New Zealand.
“All credit to the crowd,” India coach Jose Brasa said. “Their support was tremendous, something I have never seen before in any match.”
Devvarman became the first Commonwealth Games men’s tennis champion, cruising to a 6-4, 6-2 win over Greg Jones of Australia.
The top seed’s win had local fans on their feet, 24 hours after the despair of seeing glamor girl Sania Mirza lose the women’s final.
“A gold medal is tough to come by. I’m happy I got mine. I’ve worked really hard,” Devvarman said.
Out at a packed Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, where the Games’ ticketing woes are slowly being addressed, Tintu Luka won the the third semi-final of the 800m, bringing more than 50,000 people to their feet in expectation of a rare track gold in the final.
Pakistan gained a measure of revenge for their hockey humbling when they claimed their first Commonwealth Games wrestling titles for 40 years, winning two golds through Azhar Hussain in the 55kg and Muhammad Inam in the 84kg.
Kumar still sent the Indian crowd home happy when he defeated South Africa’s Heinrich Barnes 7-0 in the 66kg final to add Commonwealth gold to his world title.
“You have no idea, with all the expectations riding on me and competing in my home country, and winning gold — it is the best feeling I ever had,” he said.
In track and field, England’s Leon Baptiste streaked to the men’s 200m title as Kenya’s Boaz Lalang made the most of David Rudisha’s no-show to win the 800m.
Lalang led a Kenya clean sweep of the event — the first for 56 years.
Wales won their first gold in Delhi with European champion Dai Greene taking the 400m hurdles.
Nigeria’s Muizat Odumosu took the women’s crown, but the 200m final failed to go ahead because of a protest from the semi-finals held earlier in the evening.
In weightlifting, Samoa’s Niusila Opeloge gave his family and country their second gold of the day when he clinched the 105kg heavyweight title. Earlier, sister Ele Opeloge won the women’s over 75kg super-heavyweight title.
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