India's Mandeep Kaur take first-ever track gold; India reach hockey final

India stunned the field to take the women's 4x400m relay title on Tuesday - the first-ever track gold medal won by the country's women at the Commonwealth Games Roared on by a passionate home crowd, India led virtually for the whole race with Manjeet Kaur handing over just ahead of England on the first leg, and Sini Jose and Ashwini Akkunji holding the advantage over the second and third legs.
-- Oludamola stripped of gold medal
-- Kenyans go the distance as India's women shine
-- Lee strolls towards gold, cash reward
It was left to Mandeep Kaur to hold off Nigeria's 400m hurdles gold medallist Muizat Odumosu and Nadine Okyere of England on the final stretch. She was never threatened, however, and India took the top honours in 3:27.77 seconds, to Nigeria's 3:28.72 and England's 3:29.51. "I have got goosebumps right now. I think we won because of the crowd support we had," said Manjeet Kaur.
"I thought we would come second, but my team had the self belief to do it. "We worked on our performance day and night. We wanted to prove to the world that we can win medals in athletics." It was a personal triumph for Manjeet Kaur, who has now won one gold and one silver at the track, making her the only person from India to achieve this feat. Mohinder Singh Gill and Seema Antil are the only other Indians to claim two medals in Commonwealth Games history, but neither won gold. "I cannot express my happiness in words," she said. "I am really happy that we have won over 10 medals in athletics this time and with hard work we will get more in the future. The Games are in Delhi so we had to go for gold."
Nigerian Osayemi Oludamola was stripped of the women's 100 metres Commonwealth Games gold medal on Tuesday after her B sample confirmed a positive test for a banned stimulant, the Games Federation said.
"The Federation Court determined that Ms Oludamola had committed an anti-doping rule violation and that she be disqualified from the Games and all her competition results at the 2010 Commonwealth Games be nullified," said a statement. Her compatriot Samuel Okon, a 110 metres hurdler who also tested positive for Methylhexaneamine, waived his right to have his B Sample tested and has also been disqualified, the statement added.
Oludamola was awarded gold in controversial circumstances when Australian Sally Pearson was disqualified for a false start three hours after crossing the line. Natasha Mayers, who crossed the line third in the blue riband sprint to take St Vincent and the Grenadines' first athletics medal, will now be awarded the gold medal.
Kenya completed its domination of the Commonwealth Games distance races on Tuesday, while India's women pulled off an historic win in the 4x400 metres relay final. World champion Vivian Cheruiyot breezed to the women's 5,000m title while young gun Silas Kiplagat claimed the men's 1,500m gold medal. It capped a powerful performance by the Kenyan team, which won eight of the 10 races over 800m as the athletics program wrapped up. The only ones it failed to get its hands on was the men's 5,000m and 10,000m, where Uganda's Moses Kipsiro crashed the party.
The diminutive Cheruiyot dictated her race to cross the line in a slow 15:55.12 seconds and lead another Kenyan clean sweep with Syliva Kibet second and Ines Chenonge third. Cheruiyot, a former world junior cross country champion, has been in top form all season to the detriment of strong opposition, especially Ethiopians. "We are dominant because we train very hard, we train all year long," she said, adding that she wasn't entirely happy with her race.
"It was not a very good sprint because I had already relaxed. I got a little bit tired." Kiplagat is the fastest man in the world this year in 3:29.27 and while his time was some 13 seconds adrift of that, it capped a breakthrough year for the youngster who has stepped up in the absence of Olympic champion Asbel Kiprop. He turned on the afterburner with 200m to go and no-one could catch him with fellow Kenyan James Magut second and New Zealand's Nick Willis third. "The pace was slow, so I wanted to push the pace," said Kiplagat, who had never run out outside his country until a few months ago.
"I started sprinting at 200m. Usually I sprint at the 50m but they went slow. The time was only 3:41 but I'm very pleased." The biggest cheer of the night at a packed Jawarhalal Nehru Stadium, however, was reserved for the Indian women's 4x400m relay team which shocked the field by winning ahead of Nigeria and England. It was the first-ever track gold medal won by Indian women in the Commonwealth Games and followed the podium clean sweep that India pulled off in the women's discus. "I have got goosebumps right now. I think we won because of the crowd support we had," said Manjeet Kaur.
"I thought we would come second, but my team had the self belief to do it." Australia won the men's 4x400m relay which closed the track and field meeting ahead of Kenya and England. With England's triple jump champion Phillips Idowu pulling out of Delhi on safety grounds, the gold medal race here was open-ended. Nigeria's Tosin Oke won with 17.16, but his leap was well short of the 17.86m Commonwealth record set by the legendary Jonathan Edwards in 2002.
Meanwhile, Australia's Jarrod Bannister threw 81.71 metres to take the men's javelin, giving his country the title for the first time in 48 years. Australia enjoyed more success in the women's pole vault with Alana Boyd taking the honours. In badminton, world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia overwhelmed third-seeded Indian Chetan Buradagunta 21-11, 21-12 on Tuesday to reach the Commonwealth Games final, edging closer to gold and a bumper pay day. Lee has conceded a mere 86 points in eight games in four matches, and is an even more overwhelming favourite to win the title again than when he started the tournament.
The top seed has been so dominant, with his gliding movement and geometrical precision, that he looks almost certain to equal the achievement of his compatriot Rashid Sidek in 1994, the only player successfully to defend the men's singles title. Lee sometimes does not appear for interviews, says little when he does, and gives the impression that he is so focussed that he feels this tournament almost as like a world championship.
Singapore take mixed doubles gold and silver Singapore scored a top two podium finish on Tuesday, taking gold and silver in the Commonwealth Games table tennis mixed doubles. Second seeds Yang Zi and Wang Yuegu beat favourites Gao Ning and Feng Tianwen in straight sets in the final while England's Paul Drinkhall and Joanne Parker won the third place play off.