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: Hockey

By Steven Oldham

Click HERE for Commonwealth Games homepage

At the Commonwealths, hockey is one of the 'core' sports that must be included in every edition of the Games - it's been a fixture since 1998.

WHEN?

Hockey is one of the first sports to get underway on the opening day of competition, July 24 with two women's group matches. The men start a day later. The hockey tournament spans the whole eleven days of the Commonwealths with the gold medal matches happening on the final two days, August 2 and 3.

WHERE?

Much like the London 2012 Olympic Games, hockey will take place in a newly built arena at the National Hockey Centre on Glasgow Green. Hosting two synthetic pitches, it will accommodate up to 5,000 fans during the Games and will continue to hold domestic and international hockey having opened its doors last year.

WHO?

Ten nations split into two groups of five will compete in both the men's and women's competitions in a round robin format. The top two from each group advance to the semi finals while the teams in third, fourth and fifth will play their corresponding team in the other group to settle the final classifications.

The ten countries competing are Australia, Canada, England, India, Malaysia New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa,  Trinidad & Tobago and Wales. All countries will field both male and female teams.

Australia have been the dominant force in Commonwealth hockey since 1998, with seven of eight available gold medals going to the teams from Down Under. Only the Indian women have broken their hold, defeating hosts England at the 2002 edition. The Aussies will once again be favourites in Glasgow having won gold and silver at the World Cup last month.

Host nation Scotland have yet to medal in hockey at the Commonwealths with a best finish of 7th in 2006.

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

• Teams of eleven compete in two halves of 35 minutes. The aim is simple - score more goals than your opponents. Substitutes are allowed with few restrictions. Players are not allowed to strike the ball with their feet if it gains them an advantage.
• Players often play more than one position depending on the state of gameplay at that time. The one exception are goalkeepers.
• Corners follow the same rule as football - if the last touch is off a defender once the ball is out of play behind the back line, the attacking team gets a corner. Similarly, free hits are like free kicks in that they are awarded for foul play - obstruction, using your body too much when tackling and so on.
• Hockey follows a three-stage disciplinary system - a green card is the least severe (a football yellow card), leading to a yellow card (a rugby union or ice hockey sin bin) followed by the most serious red card. Players can be issued with more than one yellow or green card, but not for the same offence. Repeated offences are punished by a more serious card.  

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Australia's men on their way to World Cup success in The Netherlands last month.