It won146;t be easy for Gowda, Manjit

Manjit has raced only once over the distance this season during the Federation Cup held here in the first week of March. Her winning time of 52.04 was one second slower than her personal best of 51.05, which she clocked nearly six months ago during the Asian Championships in Korea.In the semi-finals tomorrow, Manjit will not find the going easy since top two finishers in each of the four groups are likely to secure their berths in the finals, making the Indian8217;s life difficult. One can also expect a much faster race on the morrow. And going by Manjit8217;s form today, she might have to dig deep to draw from her reserves to make the grade.

Of the eight runners in Manjit8217;s group, Christine Amertil 51.85 of Bahamas and Sherikca Williams 52.18 of Jamaica were in great form today and both are expected to make it to the finals. The two returned the best timings in their respective heats, leaving the rest of the participants way behind.

Similarly, prospects of the US-based Gowda in shot put finals looks slim. In the qualifying round, his best throw was 18.37m 8212; far less than his personal best of 19.10m. Vikas, who feels more at home in discus, is lying fifth in shot put.nbsp; Gowda took to shot put only recently and, like Manjit, he will have to come up with some extra ordinary perforamnce to be among the medal bracket at the Games.

Rapid fire gold

It was mixed day for the Indian shooters atthe Games today. Of the four pair events in which India participated, they emerged victorious in men8217;s 25m rapid fire only. In men8217;s double trap and women8217;s three position, our shooters managed a silver each while in 10m air pistol event the women faltered.

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore 89 and Vikram Bhatnagar 90 were expected to win gold, but the duo settled for the silver. The pair of Vijay Kumar 571 and Pemba Tamang 563 were winners of gold in rapid fire. But Anjali Bhagwat 573 and Anjua Jung 569 managed a silver in three position.

DAY 4 8212; HOW INDIANS FARED

Badminton: England beat India in semifinal meet New Zealand in bronze play-off mixed team event

Boxing: Ajay Kumar beat Mokai Paraha Tonga 22-16 on points 81 kg; S Maybengam lost to John Langley Eng 12-20 on points 48 kg; Vijender beat Andy Gabriel Sey 25-11 on points 69 kg; V Johnson beat Fredrick Oracho ken RSC I 91 kg

Shooting: Pemba Tamang and Vijay Kumar win GOLD 25m rapid fire pairs; Anjali Bhagwat and Anuja Jung win SILVER women8217;s 50m rifle 3 position pairs; Rajyavardhan Rathore and V Bhatnagar win SILVER double trap pairs

Indians at Melbourne Monday

Athletics: Deepmala L Devi women8217;s 20km walk; Malati Holla women EAD shot put; Jora singh decathlon; Orchatteri Jaisha women8217;s 1,500M; Parayil Jalan men8217;s 20 km walk; Vikas Gowda shot put final; Manjit Kaur women8217;s 400 m semifinal

Badminton: India play New Zealand in bronze medal play-off match

Basketball: India play Mozambique women

Boxing: Akhil Kumar vs. Atanas Mugerwa 54 kg; Diawakar Prasad vs M Coriakula Fiji 57 kg; Jitender Kumar vs. M Letsopea Les 51 kg; Jai Bhagwan vs. F R Gavin Eng 60 kg

Hockey: India vs. Trinidad Men8217;s

Shooting: A Kaur amp; Tejaswinisawant women8217;s 10 m air rifle; A Bindra and G Narang men8217;s 50m rifle 3P; J Rana and S Jung men8217;s 25m centre fire pistol; Amit Sanghi amp; Baba Bedi men8217;s skeet; Arti Singh women8217;s skeet

Swimming: Rehan poncha men8217;s 200m IM; A Muralidharan men8217;s 200m IM

Table tennis: India vs. Canada women8217;s bronze; India vs. Singapore men8217;s final

Lifting: Monica Lashiram Devi women8217;s 69 kg; Sateesha Rai men8217;s 85 Kg; Tejinder Singh men8217;s 85 Kg