Kipsiro clinches men's 5,000m gold NEW DELHI: Australia tightened its Commonwealth Games grip Wednesday as organizers battled to save their blue-riband athletics competition which attracted criticism as well as just a trickle of spectators. On a bumper day of 27 gold medals to be won, Australia's swimmers claimed five of eight titles in the pool while their cyclists pedaled to four golds. Host India, desperate for its athletes to help save the Games' rapidly crumbling reputation, was hanging onto the tails of Australia by winning three shooting golds as well as a first weightlifting title. Uganda's Moses Kipsiro took the first athletics gold of the Commonwealth Games after workers triumphed in their own desperate race to repair the track and get the infield ready at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Over 1,000 workers toiled through the night to fix the track and in-field areas at the stadium that were damaged during Sunday's spectacular opening ceremony. When action got under way on the track, only a few thousand spectators bothered to turn up to watch 100m heats missing the likes of Jamaican sprint kings Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell. As well as empty venues, transport problems remain. Press Trust of India reported that 800 bus drivers had stopped turning up for Games duties due to complaints about long working hours and heavy security, but local organizers were drafting in more than 900 local drivers to replace them. Wednesday's other big winner was Leisel Jones who grabbed her eighth career Commonwealth Games gold as six titles in the pool kept Australia clear of host India at the top of the medal table on the third day of competition in Delhi. India's sharpshooters, wrestlers and weightlifters gave the host nation six golds on the day, Gagan Narang and Anisa Sayyid both collecting their second of the Games on the shooting range and an African swimmer won a rare major competition gold for the continent in the pool. Kipsiro outsprinted Kenyan former world champion Eliud Kipchoge over the last lap to win the 5,000m on the track but the day belonged to the green and gold clad swimmers of Australia. Jones led a podium sweep for her country in the 200m breaststroke to become the 10th most successful athlete in Games history. Emily Seebohm, who is competing in eight events in Delhi, got her first gold in the 100 backstroke after finishing second behind compatriot Alicia Coutts in the 100 freestyle, while Matthew Cowdrey won the men's 50 freestyle for para-athletes. Wins in the relays combined with three golds on the cycling track and three in gymnastics contributed to Australia's total tally of 21. India is second with 11 golds, England third with six while Malaysia and South Africa share fourth with three. India was making its mark by staying second. Renu Bala retained her 58kg women's weightlifting title while the host claimed three shooting golds to take its gold total on the range to five. World record-holder Gagan Narang edged Beijing Olympics gold medalist Abhinav Bindra in the 10m air rifle singles event with Anisa Syyed winning the women's 25m pistol while Omkar Singh claimed the men's 50m pistol. Tennis India's Rushmi Chakravarthi ousted third-seeded Katie O'Brien to book a Commonwealth Games women's quarterfinals place alongside compatriot Sania Mirza. Top-seeded Mirza also had an easy 6-0, 6-2 victory over Cook Island's Brittany Teei, while Chakravarthi, a 32-year-old with a world ranking of No. 616, made a remarkable comeback to oust O'Brien 1-6, 7-6, 7-5. Mirza and former top-ranked doubles pair Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhuparti are among the highest-profile players in the draw. But India is one of the few countries with its top players entered in tennis' debut at the Commonwealth Games. Murray's older brother Jamie was representing Scotland, but went out in the second round 7-5, 6-1 to fourth-seeded James Ward of England. In other men's singles matches, top-seeded Somdev Devvarman took only 41 minutes to beat Amresh Jayawickreme of Sri Lanka 6-0, 6-1. But two other Indian medal hopefuls crashed out of the tournament: Second-seeded Peter Luczak of Australia beat Rohan Bopanna 6-2, 7-6 (5) in one hour and 37 minutes; and fifth-seed Heather Guernsey defeated Poojashree Venkatesh 7-6 (7), 6-3. – AgenciesMedals Table Nation G S B Total Australia 21 15 10 46 India 11 8 5 24 England 6 11 9 26 Malaysia 3 2 4 9 South Africa 3 2 4 9 Nigeria 2 2 1 5 Canada 2 1 9 12 Singapore 2 1 1 4 Scotland 1 2 2 5 Kenya 1 1 1 3 Uganda 1 0 0 1 New Zealand 0 5 2 7 Wales 0 1 1 2 Pakistan 0 1 0 1 Sri Lanka 0 0 2 2 Isle of Man 0 0 1 1 Bangladesh 0 0 1 1 Trinidad & T 0 0 1 1 __
