PTI
 
Melbourne, Mar 24: The dope shame of two male weightlifters failed to distract Indian shooters from their target as they added three more gold medals and a silver to the Indian kitty at the 18th Commonwealth Games here on Thursday.

While Indian shooters continued to rule the ranges to ensure that the country remained third on the medal tally, Tejinder Singh and Edwin Raju were caught for drug abuse by the organsing committee which conducted random tests on the participating athletes during the Games.

India's medal haul now reads 19-12-9 behind powerhouse Australia (65-55-51) and England (24-32-25).

Among other highlights of the day, Jitender Kumar and Varghese Johnson bagged a bronze from the boxing ring, while three other pugilists - Harpreet Singh, Vijender and Akhil Kumar - set themselves up for higher honours by storming into the final.

The women's hockey team closed in on their title defence by reaching the final, while seasoned shuttler Aparna Popat gave a befitting reply to her critics by showing the exit door to the defending gold medallist in the women's singles.

But the positive dope test by the two lifters exposed the Indian Weightlifting Federation's claims of 'stringent measures' to prevent such occurences after similar embarassments in the past.

"The two lifters have been informed that they have tested positive for drug abuse. They have already left the Games Village," highly placed sources told PTI today.

"However, the Indian contingent has not received any official communication in this regard," the source said.