The XVIII Commonwealth Games has been over for almost a week and I haven’t posted the final medal count till now. I’m terribly sorry about the delay. Anyway, like before, do let me know if I messed up with my math somewhere.

AUSTRALIA

84 69 68 221

ENGLAND

36 40 34 110

CANADA

26 29 31 86

INDIA

22 17 11 50

SOUTH AFRICA

12 13 13 38

I don’t know how much of this issue has been known to readers of Light the Torch. I heard about it a few days ago and a recent update last night. Let me give you a brief background on what the issue is all about.
It was reported that half of the delegates from Sierra Leone has gone missing. None of them even showed up in the event that they were supposed to be competing in. Mind you, this wasn’t the first time they did this sort of thing. It also happened in the last Commonwealth Games – Manchester 2002. I …read more

The fact that athletes actually party at the end of the Games.
If you’d seen the last part of the closing ceremony either as a live spectator or as a TV viewer, like me, you would’ve noticed how most of the athletes, if not all, came on to the stage while John Farnham was singing. They had their cameras with them, and some even have drinks in their hands. You can see how much they were enjoying themselves with all the entertainment and funfare going on. You can also see athletes relishing in the fact that inspite the competition during the …read more

It’s done. It’s over.
I have to admit the closing ceremony was fantastic! I’m glad I caught it on telly. I missed a few parts of it but I was there to witness some significant parts of it. It was another pyro-extravaganza! It makes me wonder how much they spent on just the fireworks. But man, it was awesome!
It was Prince Edward who officially declared the XVIII Commonwealth Games closed. There were ceremonies of passing on of the Games flag to India, where the next Games will be held — See you. Delhi 2010. The advert they created for it was …read more

The Games are wrapping up. They’re handing out the last of the medals to the winners. So, the final tally of the medals will be up in a bit. Yes. It’s the last day today.
I’m counting down the minutes till they close the curtain on the closing ceremony. They’ve been talking about it a lot the past couple of days, you know, how great the performances will be. They said that the opening ceremony was all about theatre, this time at closing, it will be all about Melbourne. Hmmm. I wonder how that will go. Australian artists and performers are …read more

DAY 11 : 26 March 2006, Sunday
Competition Schedule:

Badminton
Medal Events: Men’s & Women’s Singles/Doubles/Mixed Doubles gold medal games
Cycling – Road
Medal Events: Men’s & Women’s Road Race
Gymnastics – Rhythmic
Medal Events: Women’s Rhythmic Apparatus
Hockey
Medal Events: Men’s bronze & gold medal games
Netball
Medal Events: Women’s bronze & gold medal games
Squash
Medal Events: Men’s/Women’s/Mixed Doubles bronze & gold medal matches
Table Tennis
Medal Events: Men’s & Women’s Singles & Women’s EAD Wheelchair Singles bronze & gold medal matches

What’s else is on?

GAMES LANE.
Who in the world came up with that idea?
Driving around the streets for the entire four days I was in Melbourne, I can often see them with blue painted lines and yea, some have the words “Games Lane” on them. It’s to be used for Games events like Cycling and the Marathon. It’s good that the organisers made it a point to clarify that bit so as to free us, spectators, of the confusion on where to look for the athletes during such events.
But there are railings for crying out loud! Of course, people will get it. Bleh.
You …read more

DAY 10 : 25 March 2006, Saturday
Competition Schedule:

Aquatics – Diving
Medal Events: Women’s 3m Springboard final, Men’s Platform final
Athletics – Track and Field
Medal Events: Triple Jump, 4×100m Relay, Javelin, 10,000m, 1,500m, 4×400m Relay, Pole Vault, 4×100m Relay, 4×400m Relay
Badminton
Boxing
Medal Events: Men’s gold medal bouts
Gymnastics – Rhythmic
Medal Events: Women’s individual all-around rhythmic final
Hockey
Medal Events: Women’s bronze & gold medal games
Netball
Shooting – Clay Target
Medal Events: Men’s Skeet singles
Shooting – Pistol
Medal Events: Men’s 25m Standard pistol singles finals
Squash
Table Tennis
Medal Events: Men’s/Women’s doubles bronze medal & gold medal matches

What’s else is on?

Bruce Scott won a Commonwealth Games Gold yesterday in the Shooting event, Full bore category.
To say that he fired fourteen of his best shots in his life to describe the winning performance is quite dramatic, you might think but if you were in his shoes, aiming at small targets from 900 yards away, then you’d understand.
“In this sport, it’s 5% technique and 95% concentration.” Quoting Scott.
It was the exact thing he worked on when he quit his job 12 months ago in Australian Defence Force Credit Union to focus on preparing for the sport. One of the preparations was …read more

Jason Matthew Smith
6′4″ | 94kg | Guard/Forward
The 31 year old all-around baller is a Melbourne-native but currently resides in Sydney. He was the captain of the 2005 NBL Champions the Sydney Kings and earned the titles “Grand Final Most Valuable Player”, “All NBL Guard of the Year” and “All NBL Domestic Player of the Year”. He started with defence but also plays up forward. He averages 19.4 points per game.
I’m not really in tune with the B-Ball scene here in Australia especially since I’m in South Australia and I’ve been a tad bit hooked on Football and Cricket. But I’m …read more