Luke Doerner and Jason Wilon slammed two goals each as power-packed Australia wiped out India 8-0 to win their fourth successive Commonwealth Games men's field hockey gold here on Thursday. The world champions dominated the home team right through the lop-sided final played before a packed crowd at the sun-baked Major Dhyan Chand stadium.
The Aussies have now finished on top in each edition of the Games since the sport was introduced in Kuala Lumpur in 1998. The victory also completed an unprecedented hat-trick of winning the World Cup, Champions Trophy and Commonwealth gold in the same year for Ric Charlesworth's men.
Also, it was the second time in a year that Australia crowned themselves with glory here, after having won the World Cup at the same venue in March. Australian captain Jamie Dwyer said the conditions played a big part in the final outcome of the match. "They had not played in this heat before in the tournament," he said. "They played all their games in the evening when it is at least cooler by 15 degrees. I think that made a huge difference. For the Indians, who have not won a major tournament since their Asian Games gold in 1998, it was their first podium finish in the Games. While the Aussies hugged each other in joy, the sombre Indian players went on a lap of the ground to show their gratitude to the patient crowd with a banner reading "Thank you all for your kind support". Doerner finished the tournament as the highest scorer with eight goals. In the other match of the day, New Zealand bagged the bronze after upsetting world number four England 5-3 on penalties.