The Commonwealth Games were ending on Sunday much the way they started –tarnished by an unsavory event and a drug controversy that just won’t go away.
While 19-year-old Canadian gymnast Alexandra Orlando won her record-equaling sixth gold medal and Australia increased its massive lead in the overall count, a Bangladeshi athlete was charged with indecent assault over an incident at the games village.
And two Indian athletes who tested positive for a banned steroid before the games began on March 15 once again had their case postponed — Indian authorities want time to gather information to counter claims against the pair.
The best news for organisers on Sunday came from Orlando, who swept gold in all four apparatus events to go with earlier wins in the all-around and team competitions.
As athletes finished the 12-day games and prepared for Sunday night’s closing ceremony at the 85 000-seat Melbourne Cricket Ground, police announced that a 40-year-old Bangladeshi athlete had been charged with indecent assault over an alleged incident involving a worker at the Games village.
Police confiscated the passport of the man who charged with indecent assault and common assault. The charges followed an incident in the non-residential section of the village where the woman, aged in her 20s, was working.
On March 14, a day before the opening ceremony, an Indian team masseur was charged with indecent assault on a teenage games worker. Dewan Ashgar-e-Nabi did not enter a plea when he appeared in Melbourne Magistrate’s Court on March 16, and he’ll appear again on April 5.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Sunday that Indian weightlifters Edwin Raju and Tajinder Singh would likely have a decision made on their case by Tuesday or Wednesday. Raju and Singh tested positive to the banned steroid Stanozolol on March 11, and their cases were referred to a CAS panel hearing.
”The Indian authorities requested more time to gather more information on the case,” said CAS secretary general Matthieu Reeb, who said another 48 hours had been granted. ”They said that with laboratories and other offices closed on the weekend in India, they needed more time to present a case.”
Orlando won three of her apparatus finals by one full point. Her closest competitor was in the rope, where her 13,575 was only ,225 ahead of second-place Durratun Rosli of Malaysia, who also won silver in the clubs.
In the women’s road race around Melbourne’s Botanical Gardens, Natalie Bates upstaged her higher-profile teammates to lead number one-ranked Oenone Wood in an Australian 1-2 finish. Wood won gold in the time trial last week.
Bates, part of a leading pack from the start, made a breakaway with two laps to go, winning the 100km race in two hours, 56 minutes, 08 seconds.
It was an emotional race for the Australian women’s team. The squad was training in Germany last July when members were involved in an accident that killed Amy Gillett and seriously injured five other riders.
”Only one person gets the gold medal, but it was a really emotional win because of Amy,” Bates said. ”I will not be the only one on the podium. All my teammates will be with me.”
Defending champion Nicole Cooke of Wales took the bronze. A serious crash on the fourth lap resulted in New Zealand’s Melissa Halt being taken to hospital with shoulder injuries.
Olympic champion Australia won the men’s field hockey final 3-0 over Pakistan, scoring two late goals to clinch the gold, while Malaysia beat England 2-0 for bronze.
That win gave Australia its 83rd gold medal — nearly 50 better than second-place England’s 35.
Top-seeded Lee Chong Wei won the badminton singles gold medal by outclassing fellow Malaysian Wong Choong Hann 21-13, 21-12.
England’s Tracy Hallem won the women’s singles title, while in table tennis, Singapore’s Zhang Xue Ling beat countrywoman Li Jia for gold. – Sapa-AP