Australia routs India on Games final day
Last Updated: Thursday, October 14, 2010 | 8:48 AM ET
By Jesse Campigotto, CBC Sports
Goalkeeper Nathan Burgers makes a save on India's Dharamvir Singh, right, during Australia's 8-0 victory in Thursday's gold-medal match. (William West/AFP/Getty Images) Competition at the XIX Commonwealth Games closed Thursday with Australia drubbing host country India 8-0 in what had been a highly anticipated gold-medal match in men's field hockey.
Kenya swept the other two marquee events on Day 11, with John Kelai winning the men's marathon in hot, humid conditions on the streets of central Delhi, while Irene Kosgei claimed the country's first-ever women's title.
But most eyes in India were on Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, where a capacity crowd including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh turned up to watch the home team play powerhouse Australia for the field hockey championship.
The match, though, was a major letdown, as the Australians scored four times in each half and overpowered their upstart opponents to claim their fourth straight Commonwealth Games men's title.
The Australian men have never lost the gold since field hockey began appearing at the Commonwealth Games. The women's team won its third gold in four tries with a dramatic victory over rival New Zealand in a penalty shootout Wednesday.
Despite Thursday's humbling defeat, the Indian men's team restored a measure of national pride with its performance in Delhi.
India was once a field hockey powerhouse — its eight Olympic gold medals are still by far the most by any country — but its star has faded over the last three decades. India hasn't played for an Olympic medal of any colour since 1980, when the men's team won the last of the country's titles and the women lost their bronze-medal match.
Infighting among rival organizational factions disrupted the selection process for this year's Commonwealth Games, and the men's team finished eighth out of 12 teams at this year's World Cup in Delhi.
But the squad overcame the odds and the doubters this week, beating England in a penalty shootout in the semifinals to guarantee India's first-ever Commonwealth Games medal in men's field hockey.
Canada heads for 4th-place finish
Canada's only hope for a medal on the final day rested with the rhythmic gymnastics team, which had its four individual apparatus competitions. But the best result Canada could muster was Mariam Chamilova's fourth-place showing in the ribbon event.
The Canadian team finished the Delhi Games with 75 medals — 26 gold, 17 silver, 32 bronze — to place fourth in the overall standings.
The medal total is the country's lowest since 1974, and this marks the first time since 1958 that Canada has finished outside the top three.
Australia topped the standings for the sixth consecutive Games by winning 177 medals and 74 gold. England was the overall runner-up for the fourth straight time with 142 medals.
India makes top 3
The biggest surprise was host country India, which smashed its national record by winning 101 medals to bump Canada and make the top three for the first time ever.
Taking advantage of familiar surroundings that sometimes appeared hostile to visiting athletes — several of whom caught stomach bugs — the Indian team won 38 gold medals, one more than England.
India's previous single-Games bests were 69 medals and 30 gold, both set in 2002 in Manchester.
Perhaps the most surprising of India's performances was its gold-medal winning run in the women's 4x400 metres. which gave the country just its second gold on the track in the history of the Commonwealth Games.
The event drew a near-capacity crowd at Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium, where audiences had been sparse for the first few days of athletics competition.
Thursday's closing ceremony is scheduled for 7 p.m. local time at Nehru Stadium, with live coverage on Bold and CBCSports.ca starting at 9 a.m. ET.
Security is expected to be tight around the event after reports surfaced Wednesday that a Pakistan-based terror group was planning an attack on the Games.
