PTI

Melbourne, Mar 18: Indian shooters bagged three gold to pitchfork the country to second place in the medals tally behind hosts Australia on the second day of competitions in the Commonwealth Games here on Friday.

Living up to their pre-event hype, the Indian shooters boosted the country's campaign in the 18th edition of the Games by scooping up three gold and a silver medal from the Shooting Ranges.

Weightlifter Arun Murugesan added to India's tally, clinching a silver medal in the men's 62 kg category.

With five medals coming their way, India now have a tally of four gold and three silver medals while powerhouse Australia maintained their position atop the medal table with 12 gold medals.

India, fourth in the medal tally overnight, saw their shooters bring in much cheer to the Indian contingent although there was disappintment in store on the hockey field where the men's team was held to a 1-1 draw by a determined Malaysia in a league encounter.

The paddlers kept themselves in medal contention by winning their league matches in the team championships.

While the men's team thrashed Northern Ireland and Australia by identical 3-0 margins in group-D, the women's team had to sweat a little more before suppressing Wales 3-1 in group-C.

However, the day clearly belonged to the shooters who did the bulk of the medal shopping.