Triple treat on day 10

Sunday, August 3 2014

It was was triple treat of gold on day 10 of the Commonwealth Games, as six NSWIS athletes came away from the Games as Commonwealth champions.

There was high drama on the hockey pitch as the Australian women’s team, the Hockeyroos, defeated England in a tense penalty shootout to secure gold.

Featuring NSWIS athletes Casey Eastham (@CaseyEastham), Kate Jenner (@Katejenner22),Emily Smith (@Emilyjsmith26) and Kellie White (@KellWhite16), the Hockeyroos found themselves on the brink of defeat before a goal just 11 seconds from full-time saved their chance, ending regular time at 1-1.

Eastham slotted the first penalty of the shootout and then England levelled to leave scores at 1-1 after one chance each, before White’s shot was saved the the subsequent English shot was missed. Another Australian goal saw the score go to 2-1; the English missed two more chances before captain Madonna Blyth sealed the win by converting her penalty to successfully defend the Hockeyroos’ Commonwealth Games title.

There was more golden joy at the Royal Commonwealth Pool where diver and Commonwealth Games debutant Esther Qin won gold in the women’s 3m springboard, just one day after taking bronze in the women’s 1m springboard.

After qualifying for the final with ease, Qin put on a show when it mattered, scoring back-to-back 76.50 point dives to assert her dominance on the rest of the field. The 22 year old then held her nerve on the final dive to see her final score go to 347.25 points, confirming the gold ahead of competitors from Canada and England.

Not to be outdone, boxer Shelley Watts (@shelleywatts87) created history when she won gold in the women’s light 57kg-60kg division, becoming Australia’s first ever female Commonwealth Games boxing champion.

Watts took the bout to Laishram Devi of India in the final, landing a number of blows before being awarded the gold medal thanks to a unanimous points decision. The historic win comes just two years before the 2016 Olympic Games, which Watts will undoubtedly be targetting after her stellar display in Glasgow.

The NSWIS medal tally now stands at 17 gold, six silver and nine bronze medals following 10 days of competition.

The final day of action from Glasgow is jammed-packed with medal opportunities for NSWIS athletes. The Australian men’s hockey team and the Australian Diamonds netball team face India and New Zealand respectively in their hunt for gold; squash players David Palmer andCameron Pilley (@campilley) are both in the mix for medals in the men’s and mixed doubles, and Caleb Ewan (@CalebEwan) and Mark Renshaw (@Mark_Renshaw) take on the men’s cycling road race.

View the links below for a full list of NSWIS results from day 10, and the upcoming action on day 11 of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Click here for a full list of NSWIS results from day 10.

Click here for a full list of NSWIS athletes competing on Sunday August 3.