Tejaswin, Hima end sixth

High jumper Tejaswin Shankar and quartermiler Hima Das both finished sixth in their respective events in the Commonwealth Games athletics events on Wednesday.

The 19-year-old Tejaswin, the national record holder, could not clear 2.27 metres in three attempts to be out of contention for a podium finish. The Delhi athlete has a best of 2.28m, achieved at the Federation Cup last month but on this day, he was not in his elements.

Tejaswin started with 2.18m which he cleared in his second attempt and sailed over 2.21m comfortably. He then cleared 2.24m in his first attempt but failed at the next height, to the disappointment of the Indian athletics contingent.

"This is the first time I started with 2.18. Generally, I start with 2.10 but then now I know that I have to practice at higher heights. That's how it works in finals. 2.18 looked really good and I thought I was doing really well," Tejaswin, who is now based in the USA, said after his event.

"Trying to clear 2.27m, somewhere I lost the rhythm. The first two attempts were really bad but then I tried to put everything together for the last attempt but it didn't work out. It wasn't my day."

He said he will have to clear 2.30m to have any chance of winning a medal in such competitions.

"I am pretty sure that I will do that (clearing 2.30m) this year. The biggest positive is I could hold my nerve against these big competitors -- the Olympic and Commonwealth medallists. I realised they are people like me, they are not gods."

Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc's brother Brandon won the gold with a personal best effort of 2.32m while Jamal Wilson (2.30m) of Bahamas and Django Lovett (2.30m) of Canada took the silver and bronze respectively.

In the women's 400m finals, Hima Das ran a personal best of 51.32 seconds for the sixth place. Botswana's Amantle Montsho took the gold in 50.14 seconds while the Jamaican duo of Anastasia Le-Roy (50.57) and Stephenie McPherson (50.93) took silver and bronze.

In the women's long jump, Nayana James and Neena Varakil made it to the final after finishing ninth and 12th respectively. Nayana cleared 6.34m to finish fourth in Group B while Neena had touched 6.24 to end at sixth in Group A.