Silvers for NZ
Dame Valerie Adams (18.70m) won silver in last night’s shot put final after being outshone by Jamaican Danniel ThomasDodd (19.36m). Eliza McCartney also secured silver in the pole vault final, clearing 4.70m. Canadian Alysha Newman won gold with a 4.75m vault.
GOLD COAST: New Zealand beat India 32 last night to earn a spot in the men’s gold medal match at the Commonwealth Games.
The Kiwis pushed out to an early 20 lead after 12 minutes, before Glasgow silver medallist India pulled one back in the shadow of halftime.
New Zealand, ranked ninth in the world to India’s sixth, struck again in the third quarter, only for India to haul one back in the final spell and set up a nailbiting finish.
The win earns New Zealand a chance to play for gold against the winner of the second semifinal, between world No 1 Australia and Glasgow bronze medallist England.
India looked lightning quick on the counterattack but it was the Kiwis who struck twice in the opening quarter.
Hugo Inglis’s clinical finish low and hard into the bottom right corner gave the Black Sticks the lead after seven minutes. Stephen Jenness doubled the margin two minutes out from the first break.
The New Zealanders looked set to maintain their 20 lead into halftime, but India earned a penalty corner — and Kiwi skipper Arun Panchia a yellow card — with less than a minute remaining.
From there, a penalty stroke was awarded, which Harmanpreet Singh duly converted for his fifth goal of the Games, and India went into the break only a goal down.
Marcus Child slammed home for New Zealand’s third four minutes out from threequarter time, the Black Sticks taking a 31 lead into the break following some outstanding work from keeper Richard Joyce.
India piled the pressure on in the closing minutes, forcing four penalty corners in rapid succession, and Harmanpreet slam med home from the fourth to set up a grandstand finish.