Indian athletes sizzled on the track while the wrestlers made a clean sweep of medals as the hosts continued to rule the roost on day five of the third Commonwealth Youth Games at Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex at Balewadi, Pune, on Thursday.
With eight gold, eight silver and seven bronze medals to boast of, on a day when the International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge lauded the staging of the Games, the India took its total medal count to 26 gold, 18 silver and 14 bronze to sit pretty atop the table.
The Australians are in second place with 17 gold, 14 silver and 21 bronze while England, with 14 gold, six silver and nine bronze, are in third place.
South Africa (five gold, 10 silver and six bronze) and Canada (four gold, eight silver and 10 bronze) lie next in the medal standings.
Indian athletes dazzled with a rich haul of medals, including four gold, and setting four meet records on the concluding day of the athletics competition.
India bagged four gold, three silver and two bronze on Thursday to take its total medal haul in athletics to six gold, seven silver and six bronze, while England topped in the blue riband discipline with seven gold, three silver and three bronze.
In the boys' javelin throw and girls' triple jump, the first two places went to the hosts.
Allahabad's Nand Kumar Tripathi and Rohit Kumar finished first and second with efforts of 71.52m and 67.60m. Tripathi set a new CYG record with his throw. Australian Luke Bissett took the bronze.
Shraddha Ghule and Gayathri Govindraj took the first two spots in triple jump. For Thane girl Shraddha, her effort of 13.11m was a new CYG record and her first international medal. Ainsey Ackerman of Australia won the bronze.
For Chennai girl Gayathri, it was her third medal in the CYG as she had got a relay gold on Wednesday and on Tuesday won a silver in 100m hurdles.
The Indian boys' quartet of Jithin Paul, Dharambir, Inderjeet Singh and Parveen Kumar entered the CYG record books also when their combined effort of 3:13.32 en route to the gold medal became a new games record in the 4x400m relay.
South Africa finished second with a timing of 3:14.01s, while New Zealand took the bronze in 3:14.26s.
The girls' relay team of Chinchu Jose, Anu Mariam Jose, Arya Chandrika and Poovamma too set a new CYG record en route to the relays' third gold.
On Wednesday the girls' relay team bagged their first gold in the 4x100m. The Indian quartet timed 3:42.02s to enter into the CYG record
books, while Canada finished second with 3:45.46s. The Australians
took the bronze with an combined effort of 3:46.10s.
The boys' long jump earned India a silver and a bronze. Rositto Sax Andrews Rayan finished second with a leap of 7.24m, while Azarudeen Buhari settled for the third spot with 7.14m. South Africa's Stefen Brits reigned supreme with 7.38m.
The high jump saw India's Nikhil Chittarasu bag a silver with a 2.09m effort, while South Africa's Willem Wayne Voigt took the gold by clearing 2.11m.
Discus thrower Santosh Kumari missed a bronze as her effort of 41.48m was not enough. Briton Shaunagh Brown took bronze with a throw of 42.96 while Lamataimi Lolo of Australia won gold with 50.49 -- a CYG record.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's Shehan Sadaruwan Abeypitiyage and England's sprint queen Shaunna Thompson did a sprint double, winning the boys and girls' 200m events, to add to their 100m victories.
The Sri Lankan timed 21.27s for the gold in the event, which also saw Indian Amiya Kumar Mallick bagging a bronze with a timing of 21.33s.
The Orissa sprinter injured himself and had to go to the medal ceremony on a wheelchair. Ray Williams of Australia bagged the silver with a timing of 21.30s.
Shaunna added another CYG record to her new 100m mark set on Wednesday en route to her gold medal, with a timing of 23.42s. Rachael Nachula of Jamaica and Lauren O'Sullivan of Australia finished second and third respectively.
The hosts' wrestlers also continued to make merry winning both the gold medals up for grabs today, adding to the three they won on Wednesday.
Ranjeet Nalawade won gold in the 63kg category and Praveen Rana finished on top in the 69kg won amid rapturous response from the stands.
Rana is a trainee of the Gurusatpal Akhada made famous by Beijing bronze medallist Sushil Kumar.
"I belong to the same akhara at the Chattrasal Stadium. I have been there in Satpal akhara for the last six years now," said the son of a bus driver.
Rana said he wants to emulate the feat of his hero, Sushil.
"I want to be like him. But as of now, I want to concentrate on the junior circuit and when my time comes I will surely prove my worth in the senior category," said the wrestler from Qutubgarh, a small village close to Delhi.
