• Commonwealth Games - Day Seven

Baptiste stuns Malcolm as the medals keep coming

Immense heat made it tough going for cyclists in the Men's Road Race © Getty Images

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England's Leon Baptiste came of age by storming to victory in the men's 200m, as the home nations enjoyed further success on day seven of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

The 25-year-old, who wasn't picked for the European Championships earlier in the year, clocked 20.45 seconds to snatch victory from the fast-finishing Lansford Spence. Wales' Christian Malcolm, second in Barcelona, was third in 20.52s while England's Marlon Devonish had to settle for fifth.

Afterwards, a delighted Baptiste said: "If you'd said before this year I'd be Commonwealth champion, I'd have doubted myself. All the hard work has paid off, I've had a lot of support from my mum, my coach, and all my family and friends. Everyone contributed to this, not just me."

Dai Greene capped off a magnificent year by adding the Commonwealth title to his European crown after holding off Louis Van Zyl in the 400metres hurdles. The Welshman found an extra gear in the final stages to pip Van Zyl for the gold medal.

"I knew Louis [Van Zyl, who won silver] was the guy to watch out for but I always felt like I had an extra gear to switch to when I needed to, and that's what I did on the home straight. I'm very pleased, my season couldn't have gone any better. There's nothing else I could possibly have won, it all bodes well for next year," said Greene.

England's Mark Cavendish perished in the sweltering conditions that accompanied the Men's road race, with Allan Davis earning another gold medal for Australia and Scotland's David Millar securing bronze.

Cavendish was among a number of cyclists who found the going tough as temperatures out on the streets of Delhi rose to 42 degrees.

The favourite for the 168km event never threatened to produce one of his trademark sprints and in the end the Manx rider crossed the line in a disappointing seventh place.

In the women's equivalent, England's Lizzie Armitstead won silver behind Rochelle Gilmore. Australia's Chloe Hosking bagged bronze while Nicole Cooke of Wales finished fifth.

"I struggled with the heat," said Armitstead. "It was like riding in a hair dryer, but it was the same for everyone."

In the hockey, England's men followed the women into the semi-finals with a stunning 2-1 victory over South Africa at the Major Dhyan Chand stadium.

Only needing a draw to clinch qualification, England went for the jugular early on in their final Group B clash and were rewarded when Ashley Jackson put them ahead with an emphatic finish.

South Africa pegged them back but James Tindall, the hat-trick hero from Saturday, struck late to secure his country a last-four berth. South Africa had a goal disallowed two minutes from time but, despite the drama, England held on for a morale-boosting win.

"Playing four games in five days in this heat is very tough," said Tindall. "Playing a sport in this kind of weather is one of the biggest challenges. The South Africans pressed hard and made scoring difficult for us. But we are among the top five teams in the world and we want to start winning these kind of tournaments. So winning today's game was very important."

England's Alison Williamson had to settle for silver in the women's individual recurve after 16-year-old Deepika Kumari won the archery event in scintillating fashion.

The home favourite was imperious throughout, racing to a 3-0 victory with a perfect 10-10-10 scoring display - leaving Williamson starstruck.

"I think I'm satisfied with silver," she said. "I shot as well as I could today and Deepika shot brilliantly, especially in the last round with three tens. That is world-class. I was very impressed with the Indian crowd. It's been a steep learning curve for them but they've really improved. They were very respectful out there today and it was nice to compete in that atmosphere."

England sailed into the semi-finals of the netball with a crushing 89-31 triumph over Papua New Guinea. There was more cheery news for England fans as Aaron Heading won gold in the men's trap shooting and Carl Myerscough took discus bronze.

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