A Blessing indeed for Nigeria

Blessing by name, blessed by nature, Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare hailed a remarkable sprint double after racing to victory in the women's 200 metres at the Commonwealth Games on Thursday.

The 25-year-old was in complete control of the final as her blistering speed took her away from the rest of the field and ensured she finished in a time of 22.25 seconds to win her second gold medal in Glasgow.

"It's amazing," Okagbare, who set a Commonwealth record of 10.85 to win the 100 metres gold on Monday, told reporters. "I feel extremely blessed, it's not easy to get a medal so it is something to celebrate."

Despite being full of smiles after romping to victory on a damp Hampden Park track, the blonde Nigerian was frustrated that she did not run quicker to join the likes of American Olympic champion Allyson Felix in the sub-22 second club. "I wanted to run faster, honestly," she said.

"I went out in the final and I did not celebrate like I did in the 100 because I saw the time and was a little disappointed.

"I had to balance the weather and two runs in the 200 is just really, really hard. I don't know why they did that schedule. "If we had another extra day of 24 hours rest and came back then I would have been able to run faster because I think I'm actually ready to do under 22 seconds."

Krishna, Seema in final

Defending champion Krishna Poonia qualified for the final of the women’s discus throw despite finishing 11th in the qualifying round with a mediocre effort of 51.36M.
She began with two foul throws and that put her under pressure. Her final throw measured only 51.36M and with the rest of the throwers too struggling, Krishna was able to squeeze into the final.

Seema Punia, also made it to the final after finishing second with a best throw of 58.44M.