GLASGOW - Host nation Scotland’s gold medal tally hit double figures on Friday as sprint legend Usain Bolt and British teenage diving star Tom Daley prepared to make their eagerly anticipated Commonwealth Games entrances.
Scotland claimed their 11th title in Glasgow courtesy of their lawn bowls men’s fours and gymnast Daniel Purvis in the men’s parallel bars. In the pool, Jack Laugher and Chris Mears beat Australia’s Grant Nel and Matthew Mitcham in the men’s synchronised 3m springboard for England’s 45th gold. Australia cruised into the gold medal match of the women’s hockey with a 7-1 mauling of South Africa.
The Hockeyroos will face England, who beat New Zealand on penalties, in Saturday’s final. Winners of the gold medal in three of the four competitions since hockey was introduced to the Commonwealth programme, Australia have now scored 32 goals in winning their five games in Glasgow so far. “I am very satisfied with the performance. Our ability, particularly in the second-half, to finish off our chances was excellent,” said Australia coach Adam Commens.
Singapore are guaranteed gold and silver medals in the women’s table tennis after Lay Jian Fang failed in her attempt to break their stranglehold. The Australian 42-year-old’s old fashioned “penhold” style could not get the better of second seed Yu Mengyu who won quite comfortably 11-3, 11-8, 11-8, 11-6. Yu faces her compatriot and world number four Feng Tianwei in the final later Friday.
But there was an upset in the men’s doubles semi-finals as Indian pairing Sharath Kamal and Anthony Arputharaj put out second seeds Yang Zi and Zhan Jian from Singapore to spark wild scenes of celebration. Despite that loss, the dominant nation in this sport at this Games are still represented in the final after top seeds Li Hun and Gao Ning beat England’s Paul Drinkhall and Liam Pitchford. James Willstrop, England’s losing men’s singles finalist, kept alive his hopes of another medal after a closely-fought victory over New Zealanders Lance Beddoes and Paul Coll with partner Daryl Selby.
The English third seeds needed 68 minutes to win an exciting quarter-final 11-8, 6-11, 11-9 to make the last four as the doubles events progressed towards the final stages on Friday. The evening spotlight is split between the pool, where English diver Daley teams up with James Denny in the men’s synchronised 10m platform, and on the track, where Bolt runs in the 4x100m relay heats.
The Jamaican superstar opted out of the 100m and 200m, won by Jamaican teammates Kemar Bailey-Cole and Rasheed Dwyer respectively. Olympic champion Sally Pearson goes for the 100m hurdles title while world champion Eunice Sum will be favourite in the women’s 800m. Kenyan dominance is likely to come in the men’s 3000m steeplechase where double Olympic champion Ezekiel Kemboi Cheboi is chasing a second Commonwealth gold eight years on from his success at Melbourne 2006.
Ugandan Moses Kipsiro is back to try and defend his 10,000m title, having already lost his 5,000m title earlier in the Games. There are also finals in the women’s high jump and discus, and the men’s pole vault, while boxing enters the semi-final stages.
In other news, Nigerian teenage weightlifter Chika Amalaha faces a hearing before the Commonwealth Games Federation over her failed drugs test.
Amalaha, whose A sample failed a control after claiming gold in the women’s 53kg category on July 25, also produced a positive B sample. The tests revealed traces of diuretics and masking agents. And the sex assault trial of a Commonwealth Games weightlifter from Papua New Guinea was adjourned on Friday due to the lack of an interpreter.