GLASGOW, SCOTLAND // Malaysia secured a third successive Commonwealth Games gold medal in the mixed-teams badminton on Monday with a 3-1 win over England in Glasgow.
They trailed after the first rubber, with Chris Adcock and Gabrielle Adcock beating Chan Peng Soon and Lai Pei Jing 21-14, 28-26 in the mixed doubles.
But Chong Wei Feng pulled them level with a 21-17, 19-21, 21-19 win over Rajiv Ouseph in the men’s singles in 71 minutes.
After pulling even in the second game, Ouseph led in the third by 11-7, but then lost seven of the next eight points as Chong pulled off a key victory.
Tan Wee Kiong and Goh Wei Shem were always in control as they beat English duo Adcock and Andy Ellis 21-19, 21-17 in the men’s doubles.
Tee Jing Yi then finished the job with a 2-0 win over Sarah Walker in the women’s singles as Malaysia, without injured men’s world No 1 Lee Chong Wei, took the gold.
In athletics, Olympic 400 metres champion Kirani James looked in imperious form in qualifying – less than a month after he became the fifth-fastest man in history over the distance.
The Grenadian, 21, is one of the biggest names at the games and clocked 43.74 seconds in Lausanne at the start of July. He was able to ease off the gas with more than a quarter of a lap to go to cross the line in 45.52 seconds, with Michael Bingham behind him at 45.80.
Kenya’s world championship bronze medallist, Hellen Obiri, also posted an ominous warning to her rivals, posting a games record of 4:43 in cruising through to the women’s 1,500m final.
Alex Marshall and Paul Foster handed Scotland their first Commonwealth lawn bowls gold in eight years as they hammered Malaysia 20-3 in the men’s final at Kelvingrove. England claimed bronze with a 19-12 victory over Namibia.
South Africa crushed Northern Ireland’s hopes of a first gold medal with a 19-10 triumph over Neil Booth’s team in the men’s triples final. Wales collected bronze with a 16-14 victory over Australia.
At swimming in Tollcross, Australia looked well-placed to dominate the 200m backstroke final, with 100m medallists Mitch Larkin and Josh Beaver among the fastest four qualifiers on the penultimate day of competition.
England’s Ben Proud split the strong Australian team in the 50m freestyle heats to post the third-fastest time in qualifying for tonight’s semi-finals. Cameron McEvoy was three-hundredths of a second outside a games record with a time of 22.04, while Proud came in at 22.21 – 0.12 faster than 100m gold medallist James Magnussen.
Wales’ Georgia Davies broke a games record in the 50m backstroke heats, with the 100m silver medallist clocking 27.90 to touch home ahead of Australia’s Emily Seebohm.
Shooter Michael Gault’s bid to become the most successful Commonwealth athlete of all time ended when he missed out on a place in the final of the 50m air pistol.
Australia’s Warren Potent won the 50m rifle prone, with Gagan Narang of India taking silver and England’s Ken Parr bronze.
Matthew wins memorable all-English final
England’s Nick Matthew retained his Commonwealth Games men’s squash singles title on Monday with a memorable five-game victory over compatriot James Willstrop.
Both players were close to ending their dreams of glory in Glasgow six weeks ago, with Matthew having surgery on his knee and Willstrop on his hip.
Matthew kissed his knee at the finish after winning an exciting contest 11-9, 8-11, 11-5, 6-11, 11-5 over his arch-rival, crediting the victory to his stubbornness.
“Having my back to the wall brings out the best in me,” Mathew said. Both finalists make no excuses over their dislike for one another – although as Willstrop stated, “It’s not as if we go round hitting each other with cricket bats”.
England won all three medals in men’s singles after Peter Barker beat India’s Saurav Ghosal yesterday. The Indian was distraught at the end, with Barker sportingly consoling his opponent after a 11-5, 6-11, 11-5, 11-6 victory.
Afterward, the third seed found it difficult to assess whether he was pleased with a bronze medal, the disappointment of a 11-8, 11-4, 11-5 defeat to compatriot Matthew still fresh in his mind.
Also, Nicol David retained her Games women’s squash title by beating world champion Laura Massaro of England.
The Mayasian world No 1 recovered from a slow start to win 12-10, 11-2, 11-5 in 44 minutes. New Zealand’s Joelle King beat England’s Alison Waters 11-7, 11-7, 11-5 to the bronze medal.
Fegue ends Cameroon’s medal drought
Marie Fegue won the women’s 69 kilogram weightlifting class on Monday to hand Cameroon its first Commonwealth Games gold medal since 2002.
“A hard year of work has paid off by winning the gold. That was my only goal,” Fegue said after totalling 234kg from a 102kg snatch and 132kg in the clean and jerk.
The last Cameroon gold was won by weightlifter Madeleine Yamechi 12 years ago, and Fegue’s was the country’s 10th gold in Games history, all won in weightlifting.
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