New Delhi: India kept the momentum going on the third day of the Commonwealth Games as the host nation bagged six more gold medals in shooting, wrestling and weightlifting. With this effort, 11 gold, eight silver and five bronze, India has 24 medals to its name as against Australia's 41 at the top.
Indian shooters struck gold early on Wednesday as World No.3 Gagan Narang pipped compatriot and Beijing Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra in the 10-metre air rifle competition.
Narang, who equalled his own world record in the qualification round with a perfect score of 600, went on to score 103.6 in the final round, leaving Bindra (698 points, 595+103) behind. The bronze medal went to James Huckle (693.5, 591+102.5) of England.
When he struck perfect 600, he pumped the air with clenched fist in jubilation. There was a palpable feeling of elation in Narang who, his admirers felt, did not get his due in the shadow of Bindra.
But that was just the beginning of day three. Anisa Sayyed won another gold in shooting, this time in the 25-metre women's pistol event. Rahi Sarnobat won the silver in the same competition.
Shooter Omkar Singh won the third shooting gold on Wednesday in the 50-metre pistol event on the third day of competition at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Junior world champion Asher Noria and world No.3 Ronjan Sodhi then teamed up to win the silver in the men's pairs double trap shooting event. They missed the gold by one point. Noria and Sodhi together shot 188 points. Stevan Walton and Steven Scott of England bagged the gold with a total of 189 points, a new Games record.
The Indian shooters have so far won five gold and five silver medals.
Indian weightlifter Renu Bala Chanu continued to make India's day better. She won the first gold in the weightlifting event when she won in the women's 58kg category.
Grappler Rajender Kumar gave India more reasons to cheer by clinching gold in Greco-Roman wrestling on Wednesday. While Sunil overpowered Hawthorn of Wales in his 66kg bronze medal play-off bout to win the bronze.
In his final bout against Pakistan's Azhar Hussain, Rajender showed his class in the opening period as he raced on to a 5-0 lead, flipping his Pakistani rival twice and eventually winning 11-0 to give its fifth gold of the day.
In the 84kg Greco-Roman category, Manoj Kumar won a silver for the country.
India's eleventh gold came from weightlifting as K Ravi Kumar created a new Commonwealth Games record with a total lift of 321kgs in the 69-kg category.
The Orissa lad proved too good for his opponents as the second best finish was of 308 kgs.
Sri Lanka's Chinthana Vidanage took the silver medal, while Mohd Hafifi Mansor of Malaysia bagged bronze with a total lift of 306 kgs.
India now have 11 golds in their kitty, after bagging five on day two of the Games.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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