Glasgow 2014: DAY 11: Australia finish with a flourish, England and Wales take road race gold medals as Commonwealth Games come to a close



Australia's men have won every Commonwealth hockey tournament

By Steven Oldham MISS DAY 10 HIGHLIGHTS? CLICK HERE

Australia enjoyed a successful as the Commonwealth Games came to a close today, but still had to settle for second on the medals table.

The team from Down Under completed a double in hockey, with their men's team beating India 4-0 in the final, a day after their women beat England.

Their victory ensured Australia's 100% record in men's hockey gold is maintained - they have won every Commonwealth tournament since the sport was added to the programme in 1998.

They also regained the netball title from reigning champions New Zealand, winning 58-40.  Australia now have bragging rights in this sport too, having won three gold medals - one more than great rivals New Zealand.

They also picked up the final with David Palmer and Cameron Pilley picking up the men's doubles in squash, with Palmer picking up double gold, having won the mixed doubles with Rachael Grinham, with both victors  defeating teams from England.

Joy for husband and wife Chris & Gabby Adcock (Guardian Sport)

 

England sealed their place on top of the medal table by taking two more gold medals on the final day of action.

Husband and wife badminton players Chris and Gabby Adcock won an all English final in the mixed doubles, beating team-mates Chris Langridge and Heather Oliver 2-0. They became the first married pair to win the title and add Commonwealth gold to the national title they won earlier this year.

In this morning's first action, Lizzie Armitstead took the first gold of the day in the women's road race from team-mate Emma Pooley. The 25-year-old won silver in both the Delhi Games and London 2012 so this becomes her biggest achievement on the road.

Wales' Geraint Thomas wins road race (Team Sky)

Wales celebrated the final day with gold in the men's road race for Geraint Thomas, the country's fifth of the Games as they finished 13th on the medal table - the same position as in Delhi four years ago, but with two more gold medals.

Thomas - who also won bronze in the time trial - survived late drama with a puncture with 6km left to run to take gold ahead of New Zealand's Jack Bauer and Simon Thwaites of England.

Malaysia's women's double winners (Starsport)

Malaysia won both doubles titles in badminton to take home half of the six gold medals available in the sport, but even this impressive performance failed to match their success in Delhi.

Tan Wee Kiong and Goh Wei Shem won the men's competition with Vivian Hoo Kah Mun and Woon Khe Wei taking the women's doubles.

Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland wins silver

Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour lost to Canada's Michelle Li but still made history by being the first woman from her country to make a Commonwealth badminton final.

She was easily beaten in the end, but had the honour of picking up her country's 53rd and final medal of a record breaking Games as they finished in fourth in the medals table.

Glasgow 2014 - Commonwealth Games Sports Guide: Badminton

By Steven Oldham

Click HERE for Commonwealth Games homepage

Badminton is a long-standing sport at the Commonwealths having debuted in Kingston, Jamaica back in 1966.

The sport is highly popular all over the world and there an estimated 200 million players across the planet be it professional, at school or on a Tuesday night at the local leisure centre.

Also an Olympic sports since 1992, six medal events will be contested in Glasgow - men's and women's singles, and men's, women's and mixed doubles and a mixed team event.

WHEN ?

Badminton is another sport that spans the whole eleven days of competition. From July 24-28, the mixed team event takes the stage. The singles and doubles competitions running from July 29-August 3, with all five finals on the last day.

WHERE?

All badminton tournaments are taking place at the Emirates Arena across six purpose-built courts.

WHO?

The traditional heavyweights in Commonwealth competition are England and Malaysia, and these two nations lie comfortably ahead of the rest on the all time medals table.

Malaysia have been the dominant force over recent Games, claiming six of the last ten available gold medals across both singles and doubles. However, this year they have been dealt with a blow with four-time Commonwealth champion Lee Chong Wei ruled out by injury. He is the country's most successful Olympian of all time and will be missed.

Seven-time and reigning national champion Rajiv Ouseph headlines the English team this year, alongside husband and wife mixed doubles pairing Chris and Gabby Adcock.

India emerged as a contender in their home Games in 2010, winning both the women's singles and doubles events and taking silver in the team event. Will they continue to grow as an international force in Glasgow or did they simply maximise on home advantage four years ago?

Glasgow-born Imogen Bankier is the poster girl for badminton in her home country  - she has won silver at the world championships and is also a European championship bronze medallist, both in mixed doubles. She will be looking to improve on her quarter final appearance in Delhi four years ago with partner Robert Blair.

LET ME SOUND LIKE I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT...

• Players take positions on opposite sides of the net, and use racquets to hit shuttlecocks over the net.
• Like other racquet sports, points are scored when the opponent hits the shuttlecock out of play or cannot return your shot - with the shuttlecock landing on their half of the net. Consecutive shots between players are called rallies.
• Matches are split into three games - the first player or team to score 21 points wins the game. If scores are tied at 20-20, a two points gap is needed to claim victory (23-21 for example)
• Outside the Commonwealth, the best nations include China, South Korea and Denmark. The Chinese are the most successful badminton nation.  

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Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei will miss out on Glasgow 2014
due to injury (allenglandbadminton.com)