Dingko Singh falls at first hurdle

Lightweight hero Dingko Singh's medal aspirations were shattered, as he narrowly lost on points to Ezekiel Letuka of Lesotho in his first round bout in the 54 kg category, in the boxing competition at the Commonwealth Games, on Friday.

Dingko began with a flurry of punches but could not sustain the tempo. He eventually lost 12-14 on points.

The athletic contingent too had little to cheer about at the newly built City of Manchester stadium as hammer thrower Hardeep Kaur failed to qualify for the women's final in the event.

Hardeep, who had impressive performances in domestic meets, missed the qualifying mark by a whisker as she heaved the iron ball to a distance of 55.98 metres. She finished behind Scotland's Mhairi Walters, who qualifed with an effort of 56.03 metres.

There was, however, some joy for India as title aspirant Pulella Gopichand dished out some graceful badminton while beating Northern Ireland's Bruce Topping in the mixed team event to give India the lead.