Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang have won the ten metre air rifle pairs to secure India’s first gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

On the second day of competition the duo scored 1,193 points to beat their Games record and set the competition alight for the first time.

Bindra and Gagan were repeating their success, having taken the top prize in the same event at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006.

In second place, England’s James Huckle and Kenny Parr scored 1,174, while Bangladesh took home the bronze medal with 1,173 on the scoreboard.

Bindra, who also won the pairs title alongside Sameer Ambekar in Manchester in 2002, said: “It gives us a good start and hopefully, we will have many more medals in the coming days.”

His words proved prophetic, with Anisa Syyed and Rahee Sarnobat won India’s second gold in the women’s 25 metre pistol pairs.

Their total of 1,156 points beat the 1,150 set by Australia in Manchester in 2002 to set a new Commonwealth Games record.

Air India

Meanwhile India has been celebrating the spectacular start to the Games, with the first events matching the opening ceremony for excitement.

Air India chairman and managing director, Shri Arvind Jadhav, offered his support.

“The hosting of the Games has created state-of-the-art infrastructure in New Delhi which will no doubt contribute to the city’s numerous historical and cultural facets, which are the delight of all visitors to the nation’s capital,” he said.

“India is one of the favourite tourism destinations of the world, offering abundant choices to the most discerning traveller.

“Ranging from eco-tourism, adventure sports, beaches, mountains, wildlife, spirituality, wellness, and medical tourism, India has it all,” he added.

World Travel Awards

With the competition underway many of the early predictions of disaster at the games have proved unfounded, with India now looking forward to the next celebration in the calendar.

The World Travel Awards Asia & Australasia Gale Ceremony will take place in Delhi on October 14th.

Referred to as the Oscars of the travel industry by many, the event will welcome the leading personalities from the regional tourism sector for a ceremony at The Claridges Surajkund.