COMMONWEALTH GAMES

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com  By Kwame Laurence in New Delhi

Boxer Tariq Abdul Haqq assured Trinidad and Tobago of a fifth medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, when he advanced to the semifinal round in the super heavyweight division, at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium, here in New Delhi, India, yesterday.

Haqq won his quarter-final duel with New Zealand's Joseph Parker by the narrowest of margins. The bout was scored a 7-7 draw, and on a count back, the scorecards of the five judges still could not determine a winner. Haqq was then awarded the decision by preference, three of the judges giving him the nod over his opponent.
Today, Haqq will be back in the ring for his semifinal contest, against Cameroon's Blaise Yepmou.

By reaching the penultimate round of the competition, Haqq is assured of at least bronze. So, no matter what happens in his showdown with Yepmou, the 20-year-old will become the third boxer from T&T to climb a Commonwealth Games rostrum, following in the footsteps of 1994 middleweight bronze medallist Mervyn Penniston and 2002 super heavyweight silver medallist Kertson Manswell.

At the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range, T&T's Robert Auerbach produced an impressive performance in the men's singles trap, hitting 138 out of a possible 150 targets to capture fifth spot.

England's Aaron Heading grabbed gold with a Finals Games Record of 147. Australian Michael Diamond (146) and India's Manavjit Singh Sandhu (144) earned silver and bronze, respectively.

After two stages of qualifying, Auerbach was joint sixth, with four other competitors, each of the five hitting 120 targets. In the shoot-off for the sixth and final berth in the final, Auerbach emerged victorious.

The 22-year-old shooter then hit 18 out of 25 targets to edge into fifth spot.
Rhodney Allen finished 15th in the men's 25 metres centrefire pistol singles event. Allen scored 564, while his T&T teammate, Roger Daniel totalled 558 for 18th spot.
Indians Harpeet Singh (580) and Vijay Kumar (574) finished one-two, while third spot went to Singapore's Lip Meng Poh (574).

The full bore singles and pairs events continue today, at the CRPF Campus. T&T's Justin Lall and Norris Gomez are among the shooters on show.
T&T's netballers gave a spirited showing against the mighty Australians in their final Group A fixture, at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex. Australia won 62-34, T&T doing a fine job of containing the top ranked team in the world.

For T&T, Anestacia Wilson and captain Janelle Barker scored 16 goals each.
Afterwards, Barker told the Express she was very satisfied with her team's performance.
"A complete team effort. This is the game we should have been playing right through the tournament. Unfortunately, it took us today to get it together. But I am extremely happy, extremely proud of my girls.

"We like playing against Australia. We need to show Australia that hey, we could play just as good and even better than them. We outscored them in the second quarter, and I think that was splendid."

A small but enthusiastic cheering section, aided by the T&T bench, spurred the team on. The supporters even offered an amended version of David Rudder's "Calypso Music".
"Calypso, Calypso, Calypso Netball," they sang.

Perhaps it was no coincidence that sports psychologist Dr Margaret Ottley was leading the chant, the lyrics giving the Aussies a reminder that T&T were once world beaters.
"I want to think that was part of it," said Barker. "It wasn't something that was planned, but the adrenaline, it filtered out to the crowd tonight."

Playing with great intensity, T&T often matched their opponents on the court. Barker insisted, though, that another factor worked against her team.
"The officiating needs to be consistent. It was very inconsistent tonight. The officiating cannot only be to the advantage of one team and at a disadvantage to another team. It was clear. Everybody was seeing it. The people who are in charge of selecting these umpires need to reassess them, and really look and see if every team is getting a fair opportunity to win a tournament."

T&T, fourth in Group A with two wins and three defeats, take on Caribbean rivals Barbados today, in the seventh place playoff. T&T cyclist Emile Abraham returned a time of three hours, 57 minutes, 10 seconds to finish 35th in the 168-kilometre men's road race.

In a tight finish, Australia's Allan Davis claimed the gold, beating New Zealander Hayden Roulston and Scotland's David Millar into second and third, respectively. All three medallists were credited with the same time—3:49:48.
And late last night (TT time), T&T's hockey women squared off against Malaysia, at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, in a battle for ninth spot in the 10-team tournament.

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com By Kwame Laurence

Nothing in sport is guaranteed. Absolutely nothing. Rhonda Watkins was a victim of this undeniable truth, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, here in New Delhi, India, yesterday.
The Trinidad and Tobago athlete was tipped for gold in the Commonwealth Games women's long jump, following her 6.56 metres leap in Saturday's preliminaries. She had led all qualifiers into the final, none of the other jumpers reaching the 6.50m automatic qualifying distance.

Watkins, though, could only manage fourth spot yesterday, missing out on a trip to the rostrum.

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com By –Kwame Laurence

Trinidad and Tobago para-swimmer Shanntol Ince completed her historic participation in the 2010 Commonwealth Games with a sixth-place finish in the women's 100 metres butterfly S9, at the Dr SPM Aquatics Complex, here in New Delhi, India, yesterday.
Ince returned a time of one minute, 22.64 seconds.

South Africa's Natalie Du Toit dominated the field, touching the wall in 1:07.32 to complete a clean sweep of the three S9 races. England's Stephanie Millward was a distant second, in 1:13.11, while bronze went to Australian Ellie Cole (1:14.04).

T&T's hockey men lost 2-0 to Canada, at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium. Scott Tupper scored a first half double for the Canadians.

T&T have now completed their Group B schedule, losing all four matches to finish without a point. After yesterday's clash with Canada, T&T captain Kwandwane Browne was a disappointed man.
"We started off way too slow. We didn't play with as much intensity as we could have. If we had played half the way we played against South Africa or England, this would have been a much easier game."

Though T&T lost 4-0 to England and 5-3 to South Africa, they fought well, earning the respect of their highly-regarded opponents.

"We didn't really care so much about results," Browne explained. "The main thing for us is to qualify for the Olympics, and we need to beat teams like Canada and Argentina. That's why we're so disappointed today. We needed to win, and it just shows that we still have a little more work to do." The skipper said Friday's clash with South Africa was the highpoint of T&T's Group B campaign.
"We really played with some heart and we were really critical with our execution of set pieces."

On Tuesday, T&T face Group A table-proppers Scotland in the ninth place playoff.
T&T's netballers suffered a 61-50 defeat at the hands of Malawi in a Group A match-up, at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex.

T&T goal shoot Anestacia Wilson scored 26 of her 30 attempts.
Today, T&T tackle the mighty Australians.

At the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range, Roger Daniel and Rhodney Allen combined for tenth spot in the men's 25 metres centrefire pistol pairs event. Daniel scored 566 and Allen 552 for a total of 1,118.

India (1,159), New Zealand (1,140) and Singapore (1,139) earned gold, silver and bronze, respectively.

Daniel and Allen will compete today, in the 25m centrefire pistol singles event.
T&T's Robert Auerbach scored 71 in stage one of the men's singles trap, yesterday. Stage two and the final will be contested today.

Full bore shooters Norris Gomez and Justin Lall were in action yesterday in both singles and pairs. Those events continue today.

Super heavyweight boxer Tariq Abdul Haqq takes on New Zealand's Joseph Parker in a quarter-final bout, at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium.
And Emile Abraham is the lone T&T cyclist in the men's 168-kilometre road race.
–Kwame Laurence

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com By –Kwame Laurence

Trinidad and Tobago para-swimmer Shanntol Ince completed her historic participation in the 2010 Commonwealth Games with a sixth-place finish in the women's 100 metres butterfly S9, at the Dr SPM Aquatics Complex, here in New Delhi, India, yesterday.

Ince returned a time of one minute, 22.64 seconds.
South Africa's Natalie Du Toit dominated the field, touching the wall in 1:07.32 to complete a clean sweep of the three S9 races. England's Stephanie Millward was a distant second, in 1:13.11, while bronze went to Australian Ellie Cole (1:14.04).

T&T's hockey men lost 2-0 to Canada, at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium. Scott Tupper scored a first half double for the Canadians.
T&T have now completed their Group B schedule, losing all four matches to finish without a point.

After yesterday's clash with Canada, T&T captain Kwandwane Browne was a disappointed man.
"We started off way too slow. We didn't play with as much intensity as we could have. If we had played half the way we played against South Africa or England, this would have been a much easier game."

Though T&T lost 4-0 to England and 5-3 to South Africa, they fought well, earning the respect of their highly-regarded opponents.

"We didn't really care so much about results," Browne explained. "The main thing for us is to qualify for the Olympics, and we need to beat teams like Canada and Argentina. That's why we're so disappointed today. We needed to win, and it just shows that we still have a little more work to do."

The skipper said Friday's clash with South Africa was the highpoint of T&T's Group B campaign.
"We really played with some heart and we were really critical with our execution of set pieces."

On Tuesday, T&T face Group A table-proppers Scotland in the ninth place playoff.
T&T's netballers suffered a 61-50 defeat at the hands of Malawi in a Group A match-up, at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex.

T&T goal shoot Anestacia Wilson scored 26 of her 30 attempts.
Today, T&T tackle the mighty Australians.

At the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range, Roger Daniel and Rhodney Allen combined for tenth spot in the men's 25 metres centrefire pistol pairs event. Daniel scored 566 and Allen 552 for a total of 1,118.
India (1,159), New Zealand (1,140) and Singapore (1,139) earned gold, silver and bronze, respectively.

Daniel and Allen will compete today, in the 25m centrefire pistol singles event.
T&T's Robert Auerbach scored 71 in stage one of the men's singles trap, yesterday. Stage two and the final will be contested today.

Full bore shooters Norris Gomez and Justin Lall were in action yesterday in both singles and pairs. Those events continue today.

Super heavyweight boxer Tariq Abdul Haqq takes on New Zealand's Joseph Parker in a quarter-final bout, at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium.
And Emile Abraham is the lone T&T cyclist in the men's 168-kilometre road race.
–Kwame Laurence

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com By Kwame Laurence New Delhi

Throwing first at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, yesterday, the Trinidad and Tobago field athlete landed the iron ball 19.03 metres.

Fully aware there was just one woman in the field capable of bettering that mark, Borel-Brown knew she would improve on the bronze medal performance she had produced in Melbourne, Australia back in 2006.

It happened so easily. I was just trying to make sure that I didn't mess up, that I got a throw in that could get me into the final and into the medals. When I saw it was 19 I was really excited. And I knew that I didn't exert a lot of effort. It was technically good, so then I thought I would break the world record," she joked.
None of the throwers came close to the 22.63m world record. Valerie Adams, though, established a new Commonwealth Games standard. The reigning champion threw 20.47m in the first round to erase her own 19.66m Games record from the books, seizing the lead from Borel-Brown in the process.

Like Borel-Brown, Adams' first throw turned out to be her best. But while there was no improvement on her opening mark, the champion had the satisfaction of bettering 20 metres in each of the six rounds.

Bronze went to Samoa's Margaret Satupai, who threw a personal best 16.43m.
After receiving her silver medal, Borel-Brown draped the T&T flag across her shoulders, posing for a series of photos as she basked in the moment, the 31-year-old thrower having completed another chapter of T&T track and field history.

In Melbourne, Borel-Brown became the country's first female Commonwealth Games medallist. She remained the lone member of the club up until Friday, when Ayanna Alexander earned triple jump silver to seize the "Most Successful T&T Female" title.

But Alexander's reign was short-lived, Borel-Brown reclaiming the crown less than 24 hours later with her big 19.03m effort. And while 19 metres eluded her for the rest of the competition, there was never any doubt the US-based athlete would join T&T's "Commonwealth Games Multi-Medallist Club".
She is the first female member and the 11th overall, joining the likes of Hasely Crawford, Wendell Mottley, Edwin Roberts, Roger Gibbon and Rodney Wilkes.

There is every likelihood another first will be recorded at the Nehru Stadium today. Rhonda Watkins is the favourite in the women's long jump final, following her 6.56 metres effort in yesterday's qualification event. She was the only jumper to attain the 6.50m automatic qualifying distance.

Alexander, who jumped 6.02m in qualifying, will also compete in today's final.
Borel-Brown told the Sunday Express the strong showing from T&T's female athletes here in New Delhi is not a chance occurrence. "It's the people that came before us. Candice [Scott], people like Ayanna [Hutchinson], people like Fana Ashby, all the female athletes that came, and even before that time. We're more like a team now, we can depend on each other, we can talk to each other more. We could talk about stuff, we could talk about track, and we support each other. We've just been building on the shoulders of the past, just been building and building and building."

Another T&T woman, Aleesha Barber, is listed for action today. She competes for a lane in the 100m hurdles final.
Emmanuel Callender missed out on a medal in the men's 100m by just one-hundredth of a second, the T&T sprinter finishing fourth in Thursday's final in 10.25 seconds. Today, he runs in the first 200m semi-final heat, and hopes to return to the track some two hours later for the championship race.

In the second round, yesterday, Callender finished third in heat two in 20.91 seconds to advance automatically to the semis.

Earlier, in the eighth and final heat in the opening round of the half lap event, the T&T sprinter gave himself a bit of a scare. He shut down too early, and had to step on the gas pedal to claim third spot and a guaranteed lane in the second round. Callender clocked 21.16 seconds.

"I'm just trying to save as much energy as I can," he told the Sunday Express, after his first round heat. "I had only one day's rest [after the 100] so I'm still sore. I'm trying to take it easy and not push myself too hard and burn up all my energy.
"All this is preparation," Callender continued, "for [London] 2012. My coach (John Smith) insisted I run both [sprints] plus the relay, so that I could get the experience of what four rounds feel like."

Callender said he expected to strike gold in the 100m.
"But I ended up cramping up in the blocks and it caused me to pause. When I finished running, my hand cramped up too. Dehydration."

Callender's teammate, Aaron Armstrong, bagged bronze in the 100m in 10.24 seconds.
The haul for Team T&T, ahead of today's action, is four—two silver medals and two bronze. Watkins and Callender are hoping to add a new colour to the collection.

Source: www.newsday.co.tt by Walter Alibey

FORMER national rugby player and coach Rhett Chee Ping has said he is elated at his appointment as chairman of the Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago (Sportt).

Yesterday the 44-year-old Chee Ping, who guided Trinidad and Tobago to the Caribbean Rugby Championship both as a player and coach, said he wants to make a difference in the lives of many young people through the avenue of sports.

Only two days ago he got the nod from Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar for the post as Sportt Company chairman, along with numerous others including former manager of the national cricket team Omar Khan, who has been appointed as chairman of the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (TTEC).

Chee Ping told Newsday he sees the appointment as an opportunity to make a difference.

“So many people talk about making a difference but when they are given an opportunity they back out. I am not going to be like that,” Chee Ping said. “There is a lot of talent in TT and the challenge is to turn this into something valuable. It’s about how can we develop the youths in TT holistically.”

Chee Ping carries a strong background in the field of sports, having began as a swimmer at the age of nine and graduated to rugby soon after completing studies at the Barry University in the United States in 1990/91 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Management.

He was forced to give up his position as coach of the national rugby team because of the increasing workload and responsibilities as a counsel member of the Caribbean Shipping Association; and on the board of directors at Medway Ltd — a local and regional shipping company.

In addition to being the president of the Shipping Association of TT, Chee Ping is also a director of Gordon Grant and Company Ltd.

He believes that while other responsibilities such as being at the helm of clubs in the domestic rugby league might be a challenge, he holds closely to his heart the duty of national coach as one that cannot be compromised.

“It’s much easier to make time for your club teams, but the difficulty in shouldering that responsibility as coach of the national team, is that you may have to keep people waiting for you etc, because of other responsibilities.”

As such he is still coach of rugby giants Trinidad Northerns, a team that has, along with rivals Caribs RFC, has dominated rugby in Trinidad and Tobago. He is hopeful of using his strong management background, as well as his ability and knowledge of moulding talent, to take development of the youth and the country by extension, to another level.

He explained that while accountability is critical, one can hardly put a price tag on the development.

He is awaiting the completion of a special audit being done on the Sportt Company before work can be started. “I intend to change things around. A simple assignment will be to recognise people’s intention to work at the company through their applications. We must at least say that we have acknowledge their applications.”

He noted that despite the scandal that has tarnished the reputation of the sport company, he will enter with a pure mind. “I will be expecting nothing when I go there to start work,” Chee Ping concluded.

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com  By Kwame Laurence in New Delhi

Ayanna Alexander jumped into the spotlight at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, here in New Delhi, India, yesterday, the 28-year-old securing silver to become Trinidad and Tobago's most successful female athlete in Commonwealth Games history.

Alexander produced a 13.91 metres effort in the second round of the women's triple jump to finish second, behind former world champion Trecia Smith, the Jamaican retaining her Commonwealth crown with a 14.19m jump. Canada's Tabia Charles (13.84m) picked up bronze.

"It feels good," an elated Alexander told the Express, shortly after her silver success. "I wanted to come out here and glorify God with the gift he has given me, and then represent my country to the fullest. I want to make Trinidad and Tobago proud, everybody in Trinidad and Tobago proud, as well as my teammates, my family and my friends…just to fly that flag and represent Trinidad."

Alexander has long been in the shadow of T&T's more celebrated female athletes—Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Rhonda Watkins, Josanne Lucas and Cleopatra Borel-Brown.

"I've come back home a couple times and looked in the newspapers and would see that such and such is going to be triple jumping from this country, such and such is going to be triple jumping from that country, but I didn't see anything about my name. That drives me.

"And just like here, such and such was in medal contention…my name was not mentioned. That's just fuel for me. I'm just trying to make a way for myself and do the best that I can."

Yesterday, Alexander succeeded in her bid to jump out of obscurity, the US-based athlete becoming only the second female from T&T to earn precious metal at the Commonwealth Games. Silver put her at the top of the very short list--ahead of Borel-Brown, the women's shot put bronze medallist four years ago.

"Definitely the start of great things ahead," Alexander declared. "It was an opportunity, a chance to compete hard and put myself out there, and I took advantage of the opportunity. Ayanna Alexander is here!"

Smith grabbed gold yesterday with her only legal jump of the competition. Alexander, on the other hand, had the most impressive series of the 11 athletes on show—13.68, 13.91, 13.68, 13.81, 13.82 and 13.87.

Lalonde Gordon, the lone T&T quartermiler here in New Delhi, finished strong in the third and final men's 400m semifinal heat, crossing the line in a personal best 46.33 seconds to secure fourth spot in the race. The clocking, though, was not fast enough to earn him a lane in today's final.

Alexander will be back at the Nehru Stadium today for the women's long jump qualifying competition. Watkins is also among the athletes who will bid for a berth in tomorrow's final.

Borel-Brown chases precious metal in the women's shot put, and Emmanuel Callender faces the starter in the opening round of the men's 200m.

If Borel-Brown can reproduce the form that saw her clear 19 metres at three meets in Europe in August, she will surely become T&T's first female multi-medallist at the Commonwealth Games.

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com By Kwame Laurence in New Delhi

Roger Daniel just missed out on a third trip to a Commonwealth Games rostrum when he finished fourth in the men's 10 metres air pistol singles event, at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range, here in New Delhi, India, yesterday.

The Trinidad and Tobago shooter finished fourth with a score of 673.1, a mere 0.9 short of the 674 total posted by bronze medallist Daniel Repacholi, of Australia. India's Omkar Singh grabbed gold with a score of 681.8, while silver went to Singapore's Bin Gai (676.2).

At the end of the qualification round, Daniel was third with 577, two more than Repacholi. Singh finished first, scoring 584 to equal the Games record, while Gai totalled 580 for second spot.

The other T&T shooter, Rhodney Allen was 14th with a score of 563.

Repacholi was the best of the eight shooters in the final, the Australian outscoring Daniel 99 to 96.1 to edge into third position.

At the 2006 Games, Daniel bagged bronze in the 50m pistol singles. And on Tuesday, he teamed up with Allen for third spot in the 50m pistol pairs event. Yesterday, bronze number three was snatched from the T&T soldier's grasp.

Daniel and Allen are listed for action today in the men's 25m centrefire pistol pairs. And Robert Auerbach will be on show in stage one of the men's singles trap.

Njisane Phillip, Christopher Sellier and Thireef Smart combined for fifth spot in the men's team sprint, at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, yesterday, the final day of track cycling at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The T&T team clocked 47.391 seconds in the qualifying event to trail Australia (44.488), New Zealand (44.583), Malaysia (45.378) and Scotland (46.724).

Australia went on to claim gold in a Games record 43.772, beating New Zealand (44.239) into second spot. In the bronze medal race, Malaysia (45.040) defeated Scotland (46.273).

Emile Abraham completed a little more than half of the scratch race final. With 38 laps to go in the 20-kilometre event, the T&T cyclist was lapped by the race leader. And it was not long before the main bunch reeled him in as well, the red flag going up to signal the end of Abraham's challenge, his hopes of completing the 40-lap race dashed.

Afterwards, Abraham told the Express the cancellation of a proposed pre-Games training camp contributed to his sub-par performance.

"The day before we were supposed to leave we got word that the training camp was cancelled due to lack of funds. It would have been my final stepping stone prior to here. When the training camp was denied it put us in a certain position because we were all counting on that. Each athlete always has a specific programme that they look forward to, and when things don't go that way it kind of screws up the entire preparation.

"We still came out here," he continued, "and put our best foot forward. We tried to represent the country as best as we can and I'm just happy to have made the final. I didn't do as well as I planned but I've got to look forward to the road race [on Sunday]."

Super heavyweight boxer Tariq Abdul Haqq was dominant in his duel with Pakistan's Meer Khan, at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium. Haqq won 10-1 to book a quarterfinal showdown with New Zealand's Joseph Parker.

Welterweight Aaron Prince was also on show, yesterday. He was beaten 11-3 by India's Dilbag Singh.

The T&T men's hockey team lost to South Africa in a Group B fixture, at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium. The scoreline, though, was one they could be proud of, the South Africans, ranked 12th in the world, winning 5-3.

Though way down at 29 on the rankings list, T&T were on level terms with their opponents at the halftime interval. Captain Kwandwane Browne scored in the 10th minute to equalise for T&T following a South Africa strike five minutes earlier. And four minutes before the break, Wayne Legerton was on target for a second T&T equaliser.

The 2-2 halftime score was a victory in itself for T&T.

By the 50th minute of the game, South Africa were up 4-2. But T&T remained in contention thanks to Legerton's second item, in the 52nd. The only other goal, however, was scored by Taine Paton, the South African finding the target in the very last minute of the match.

Kwan and company return to the Dhyan Chand Stadium today for a showdown with Canada.

The T&T hockey women were whipped 7-0 by India, yesterday, in their final Group A fixture. T&T lost all four matches to finish at the bottom of the five-team table.

Joshua McLeod, Caryle Blondell and Cadell Lyons were all eliminated in the opening round of the men's 50m freestyle, at the Dr. S.P.M. Aquatics Complex.

McLeod was the fastest of the three T&T swimmers, touching the wall in 23.86 seconds to finish seventh in heat eight and 18th overall. The top 16 swimmers secured semifinal berths.

Blondell and Lyons were 22nd and 25th, respectively, clocking 24.18 and 24.30.

Para-swimmer Shanntol Ince will be in the pool today, competing in the women's 100m butterfly S9.

And at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex, T&T's netballers face Malawi in a Group A fixture.

Source: www.guardian.co.tt

President of the National Association of Athletic Administration (NAAA), Ephraim Serrette, said that the performances of sprinters Aaron Armstrong and Emmanuel Callender in yesterday’s 100 metres final should help them to get funding from the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs’ Elite Athletes Assistance Programme (EAAP). Armstrong won the bronze medal in a time of 10.24 while Callendar placed fourth. The race was won by Jamaican Lerone Clarke (10.12) with England’s Mark Lewis-Francis (10.20) finishing second. The EAAP assists in covering athletes’ expenses as they relate to travel, accommodation, nutritional supplies and medical care for international competition.

Serrette pointed out that since the event was relatively low keyed (the Commonwealth’s top 11 sprinters of 2010 declined to participate), it opened up the chance for Armstrong and Callendar to boost their status.
“I told them before they departed that it was an opportunity for them to get recognition,” he said. “The funding they get is based on their placings at international events so they should be joining the EAAP.”It was T&T’s fourth 100m bronze medal at the Games. Olympic gold medallist Hasely Crawford twice finished third (in 1970 in Edinburgh and 1978 in Edmonton), while Marc Burns was second runner up in Melbourne in 2006.

Ato Boldon won the 100m gold in Kula Lampur in 1998. Serrette added that the results reinforced his belief that athletics is the country’s strongest sport. “Track and field continues to bring T&T results and we are maintaining that presence on the world stage,” he said. “I’m glad to see that we are recognised as a sport that brings glory to T&T, be it at regional or international meets.” He went on to predict that more medals were coming for T&T via its 4x100m team, Cleopatra Borel-Browne (shot put) and Rhonda Watkins (long jump).

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com By Kwame Laurence in New Delhi

Aaron Armstrong followed in the footsteps of an esteemed group of Trinidad and Tobago sprinters when he struck bronze in the Commonwealth Games men's 100 metres dash, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, here in New Delhi, India, yesterday.

Armstrong became only the sixth person from T&T to secure a Commonwealth 100 medal, when he crossed the line in 10.24 seconds, edging teammate Emmanuel Callender (10.25) into fourth spot.

Way back in 1954, Mike Agostini grabbed gold for T&T in the 100 yards. Twelve years later, Edwin Roberts earned bronze in the same event. Hasely Crawford claimed 100m bronze in 1970 and again in 1978. Ato Boldon emerged as Commonwealth Games sprint champion at the 1998 Games. And four years ago, Marc Burns bagged 100m bronze.

"Means a lot," Armstrong told the Express, "to come out here and represent Trinidad and Tobago, for all the support that they give us. And to be in the same category as those guys is truly a blessing, because I look up to Hasely Crawford, even my dad (former T&T sprinter Ainsley Armstrong) and everybody that's paved the way for us."

Jamaica's Lerone Clarke won impressively, stopping the clock at 10.12 seconds for a comfortable cushion on Englishman Mark Lewis-Francis, the silver medallist in 10.20.

"This is my biggest victory," Clarke declared. "Commonwealth Games is a big competition, and this is my debut meet running the 100 metres for Jamaica, so I'm proud to actually be the Commonwealth champion. I came into the race with confidence. I ran all my phases right and all my rounds right, and was able to deliver."

Though pleased to be among the top three, Armstrong was disappointed about the colour of his medal.

"The expectation was to win. For this year the goal was to be ready for Commonwealth. I was set up for a big one, but had a little tangle up with the guy from Canada (Sam Effah). We locked arms…it threw me off because my strong point is the end of the race."

In the semi-final round, Armstrong displayed his finishing power, coming from behind to win heat one in 10.14 seconds, the same time recorded by second-placed Clarke.

Callender won the second heat, also in 10.14, ahead of Effah (10.16) and Lewis-Francis (10.17). In the championship race, however, Callender was slow to react to the gun, leaving himself with too much to do. The T&T sprinter battled to the line, but came up just short, Armstrong beating him by one-hundredth of a second.

Callender is listed to compete in the 200m as well and should be among the contenders for precious metal. He also has a good shot at medalling in the 4x100m relay.

"The 100 is a little more stress," said Armstrong, "a little more tension. When the relays come it's time to have fun. We're going to go out there, give it our best, and the plan is to win a gold and bring it back home to Trinidad."

Ayanna Hutchinson bowed out in the women's 100m semis.

The experienced T&T sprinter enjoyed a good start, and looked to be in a battle for the second spot and an automatic berth in the final. But Hutchinson tied up badly in the latter stages of the race, and had to settle for fourth in 11.58 seconds. The clocking was not good enough to secure qualification as a "fastest loser".

In the final, Nigeria's Osayemi Oludamola struck gold in 11.32 seconds. Vincentian Natasha Mayers (11.37) earned silver and England's Katherine Endacott (11.44) bronze.

Australia's Sally Pearson actually crossed the line first but was later disqualified after a false start review determined that she had jumped the gun the first time the sprinters left the blocks, and should not have faced the starter a second time.

Laura Turner was disqualified for the false start, but the England athlete ran under protest. As it turned out, both Turner and Pearson jumped the gun, the referee's decision to disqualify the "race winner"--following an English protest--cutting short the Australian's celebrations.

T&T athletes Lalonde Gordon and Ayanna Alexander will be on show at the Nehru Stadium today. Gordon runs way out in lane nine in the third and final men's 400m semi-final heat, while Alexander bids for precious metal in the women's triple jump.

In yesterday's one-lap preliminaries, Gordon clocked 47.07 seconds to finish third in heat five, advancing automatically to the semis.

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com By Kwame Laurence in New Delhi

Trinidad and Tobago netball captain Janelle Barker celebrated her 33rd birthday in style, at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex, here in New Delhi, India, yesterday. The experienced goal shoot was on fire, scoring 46 of her 47 attempts to lead her team to a 77-26 victory over the host nation in their Commonwealth Games Group A showdown.

Joelisa Cooper contributed 16 goals, while team baby, 16-year-old Samantha Wallace chipped in with 15.

T&T now have two wins and one defeat. In their opener, on Monday, they went under to Jamaica, 75-36, but bounced back with a narrow 52-51 triumph over Samoa on Wednesday.

In yesterday's other Group A fixture, Australia got the better of Jamaica 60-46.

At the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, T&T cyclist Njisane Phillip finished fifth in the men's sprint. In the quarterfinal round, Phillip lost in two straight rides to New Zealand's Eddie Dawkins, but rebounded to beat Scotland's Ross Edgar, Canadian Travis Smith and England's David Daniell in the race to determine positions five to eight. Edgar was sixth, Smith seventh and Daniell eighth.

Shane Perkins beat his teammate Scott Sunderland 2-0 in the sprint finals for a one-two Australia finish. New Zealand's Sam Webster claimed the bronze with a 2-0 triumph over Dawkins.

Emile Abraham finished eighth in heat two in the qualification event for the men's 15-kilometre scratch race. The placing earned the T&T cyclist a berth in today's 24-man final.

Phillip, Christopher Sellier and Thireef Smart will also be on the track, bidding for honours in the men's team sprint.

At the Dr. S.P.M. Aquatics Complex, 15-year-old para-swimmer Shanntol Ince copped sixth spot in the women's 100 metres freestyle S9 final. The youngest swimmer in the field, Ince got home in one minute, 14.00 seconds.

South Africa's Natalie Du Toit, one of the most well known para-athletes on the planet, triumphed in a Games record 1:02.36 to complete the 50 free/100 free double. England's Stephanie Millward (1:03.69) snapped up silver, ahead of Australian Ellie Cole (1:05.20).

In the preliminary round, Ince, the first T&T para-athlete to compete at a major mainstream international Games, finished third in heat one and sixth overall in 1:14.01.

On Tuesday, Ince was fifth in the women's 50 free S9 final.

Cherelle Thompson clocked 26.70 seconds to finish sixth in heat two and 12th overall in the women's 50m freestyle semis. The T&T swimmer was 11th fastest in the heats, touching the wall in 26.65 seconds.

Jarryd Gregoire was 15th overall in the men's 100m butterfly semis in 56.53 seconds, while his teammate, Cadell Lyons was 16th in 56.73.

In the heats, Lyons (55.86) and Gregoire (56.55) were 14th and 16th, respectively. Another T&T swimmer, Joshua McLeod (56.68) was 18th and did not advance to the semis.

Christian Homer was 17th fastest in the men's 100m backstroke heats, the 17-year-old swimmer clocking 1:00.33.

Late last night (T&T time), Lyons, McLeod and Caryle Blondell were in action in the men's 50m freestyle heats.

Shooters Roger Daniel and Rhodney Allen combined for sixth spot in the men's 10m air pistol pairs event, at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range. Daniel scored 568 and Allen 553 for a total of 1,121.

India secured gold with a Games record 1,163, forcing England (1,143) to settle for silver. Singapore (1,139) bagged bronze.

Daniel and Allen, who teamed up on Tuesday for bronze in the 50m pistol pairs, will be in action today in the 10m air pistol singles event.

At the Talkatora Indoor Stadium, T&T boxer Andrew Fermin was disqualified at 2:17 in the third and final round of his light heavyweight bout with Samoa's Filimaua Hala.

Super heavyweight Tariq Abdul Haqq and welterweight Aaron Prince will bid for quarterfinal berths today. Haqq squares off against Pakistan's Meer Khan, while Prince tackles India's Dilbag Singh.

In squash, Colin Ramasra was beaten in straight games by Scotland's Alan Clyne in their men's singles classic plate semifinal duel, at the Siri Fort Sports Complex. The match lasted 15 minutes, Clyne getting the better of the T&T pro 11-3, 11-6, 11-3.

At the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, T&T's hockey women lost for the third time in as many matches.

But though they were beaten 6-1 by Scotland in the Group A contest, T&T could take heart from a couple firsts. Charlene Williams was on target one minute from the end of the game for T&T's first goal in the 2010 Commonwealth Games tournament. And it was the first time the hockey women avoided double figures here in New Delhi, following 12-0 and 11-0 whippings at the hands of South Africa and Australia, respectively.

T&T will be back on the pitch today for their clash with India. And the hockey men face South Africa in a Group B match-up.

NEW DELHI: Source: http://hindu.com  by K.P. Mohan

On a day of controversy and confusion at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the women's 100-metre result was overturned by the jury after Australian Sally Pearson won the gold but was found to have false-started.

In what would have been the 24-year-old Australian's first Commonwealth Games gold, for that matter her first major championship victory, Pearson was told around four hours after her victory that she would not be the champion and the gold would be awarded to Nigerian Osayemi Oludamola.

It was heart-break for the Australian and of course it was a big surprise for the Nigerian, with the bronze-winner Natasha Mayers (St. Vincent and Grenadines) getting silver and fourth-placed Katherine Endacott (England) upgraded to bronze.

Jamaica's supremacy in men's sprinting was maintained by 29-year-old Lerone Clarke who outclassed the field in 10.12 seconds. It was a start to finish victory for the Jamaican, who is only eighth-ranked among his countrymen for the season. England's Mark Lewis-Francis (10.20s) had a medal at last from the Commonwealth Games and he was overjoyed.
Trinidad's Aaron Armstrong claimed the bronze in 10.24s.
The problem in the women's race had begun at the start itself, with England's Laura Turner being disqualified for a false start. She claimed that a fly had entered her mouth forcing her to react which caused the false start and she was allowed to run under protest. The Englishwoman finished last, but England pressed with its protest which eventually revealed to the jury that Pearson had also false-started.

Turner reacted 0.070s to the gun while Pearson did so at 0.071. Both breached the allowable limit of 0.1000. The false start control apparatus would have detected both at the start, but Pearson's infringement was only noticed when the English protested.
Both Turner and Pearson were disqualified, but Australia lodged a counter protest which took hours to decide. Australia's contention that Pearson had only responded to a false start triggered by Turner was thrown out.

Clarke who won in great style, was never challenged and had a fraction of a second to spare towards the end for a sideways glance.
“It feels amazing. It's my first championship victory. I know I am the best in the Commonwealth,” said Clarke whose 10.12s was the best seen in Delhi.