MANCHESTER, July 26: England’s Dwain Chambers struck the first psychological blow of the Commonwealth Games athletics competition here Friday as he launched his bid to clinch the 100m title with the fastest time in the first round heats.

The 24-year-old Londoner ran 10.19sec to record a faster winning time than main rival and compatriot Mark Lewis-Francis, who posted 10.25sec and then complained of a niggling pain in the back of his knee.

Both had already received a boost when veteran Frankie Fredericks opted to skip the 100m - in which he won silver in 1998 - and concentrate on the 200m for which he has the fastest time in the world at sea level this year.

Claire Carver-Dias won the synchronised swimming solo gold, keeping Canada’s perfect run intact.

Carver-Dias, competing in her first Commonwealth Games, cruised to victory in both the technical and free programmes, finishing with a total score of 93.834 points. Canada have now won all nine of the gold medals awarded in synchro since it was put on the Commonwealth programme in 1986.

England’s Gayle Adamson took the silver with a total score of 87.917 points and Australian Naomi Young won the bronze with 85.834.

Elsewhere, Australia’s new-look women’s hockey team began the defence of their Commonwealth Games title with a 3-0 romp over Scotland while in the badminton competition, the strongly fancied sides from New Zealand and Wales made an untroubled start in their pursuit of the Badminton Mixed Team crown.

Away from the track, the Canadian team were rocked when triathlete Kelly Guest was sent home in disgrace after failing a drugs test.

At a sun-drenched City of Manchester Stadium, Chambers looked very comfortable as he sauntered in for the fastest time ahead of Canada’s Nick Macrozonaris.

“I was happy with my run and I didn’t expect such a fast time.

“For the first time for ages I am coming into a championships without any physical problems.

“I didn’t watch Mark’s race - the only person I am worried about is myself,” added the 1999 world and 1998 European medallist.

Lewis-Francis eased home ahead of a portly-looking Obadele Thompson, the bronze medallist four years ago, to make the second round later on Friday.

The English teenager was never in trouble as Thompson, rarely seen this season, had little in the locker to put pressure on him.

Australia showed the watching Queen Elizabeth why they are overwhelming favourites in the women’s hockey with a 3-0 romp over lowly Scotland.

The defending champions have just five survivors from the all-conquering team of the last decade which won two Olympic gold medals, two World Cups and the Commonwealth Games title in Malaysia.

Current captain Katrina Powell, who played in that champion team, showed she had fully recovered from a triceps injury when she put Australia before Brooke Morrison and Julie Towers made sure of the win.

In the first round of the badminton mixed doubles event, it was business as usual as New Zealand crushed Mauritius 5-0 while Ghana also sank to a 5-0 defeat at the hand of the fourth-seeded Welsh.

Before the day’s action got underway, top Canadian triathlete Guest was revealed as the second drugs test failure of the Games and was immediately banished from the village and sent home after testing positive for the banned substance nandrolone.

Guest’s coach Lance Watson said: “It’s a trace amount (of nandrolone) in his system rather than a gross performance-enhancing amount that some athletes have had in the past.

“It seems like it’s the little guys who get caught using a cough syrup, while the professionals (drug cheats) get away with it.”

In the women’s 10m platform diving competition, Canadian Myriam Boileau put herself in position to add a first gold to her cache of Commonwealth Games diving medals leading the standings after the preliminary round.

At the National Squash Centre, English veteran Chris Walker beat Wayne Prescod of Jamaica 9-0, 9-4, 9-2 in a tourament that would see men’s and women’s favourites Peter Nicol of England and Australia’s Sarah Fitz-Gerald in action later in the day.—AFP