Kookaburras take gold with easy win over India

By the time the Australian men's team was presented with yet another Commonwealth Games gold medal at the National Hockey Centre, conditions were foul.

Torrential rain and wind battered the Glasgow Green complex but pageantry persisted, leaving everyone from the bagpipes player to the ball boys and girls drenched during the medal ceremony.

The shivering on the dais was worth it, though, for the Australians. A 4-0 win over India kept in place the country's flawless record since hockey was added to the Games schedule in Kuala Lumpur in 1998.

A fifth successive gold medal was set up by a hat-trick to penalty corner specialist Chris Ciriello, whose mother was born in Kolkata and whose grandfather once played for India.

His three goals matched his performance in the final of the World Cup at the Hague in June when he slotted another treble to sink hosts Holland 5-1.

"We had a tournament in Malaysia and I had four in that final so I'm having a good year," Ciriello said.

"There was a change of eight guys coming into this from the World Cup and some young guys that really spurred the team on I think because a few of us were pretty excited after the World Cup in Holland. They pushed and carried the team as much as the older guys."

The dropping of Kookaburras great Jamie Dwyer, and the shock departure of coach Ric Charlesworth on the eve of the Commonwealth Games, had made for a challenging lead-up to Glasgow for the Australian men and uncertainty remains about the coaching job.

It was handled jointly here by Charlesworth's assistants, Paul Gaudoin and Graham Reid, and both have put their names forward for the full-time gig. Charlesworth's successor is to be determined by October but it is clear they will not remain as co-coaches.

"All that stuff is unknown and will have to be worked out with the powers that be," Gaudoin said. "We've worked together for a long time and seemed to get through here but I don't think that would work in the future."

If there is difficulty in filling Charlesworth's shoes, then Australia was at least able to put that subject aside over the past eight days here.

The Kookaburras had thrashed India 8-0 in the final in Delhi four years ago and there were early indications on Sunday that another rout might be on the cards.

With an exquisite passing game that would make the world champion German football team proud, Australia had its opponents constantly on the retreat, heads swivelling as the likes of Matt Swann and Simon Orchard worked the midfield.

By half-time they were 2-0 ahead, with Ciriello opening the scoring after seven minutes and doubling the lead by firing a bullet past India goalkeeper Sreejesh Raveendran shortly before the break.

The 28-year-old Victorian - nickname "Big Dog" - added a third from another penalty corner early in the second half, and the floodgates threatened to open as Eddie Ockenden pounced on a deflection to add a fourth.

It was the kind of exhibition that deserved a bigger crowd than the one on hand in the city's east end. The miserable weather of the previous 24 hours didn't offer any favours. As with Saturday night's women's final, the rain eased, and the sun re-appeared, just before the opening whistle, but the showers returned later and by late in the second half it was pouring down again.

India's supporting contingent at Glasgow Green was limited, too, by other matters. The Indian Olympic Committee secretary general Rajeev Mehta might have otherwise been present but was instead behind bars, having been arrested for allegedly drink driving in Glasgow on Saturday.

The Australians, though, celebrating on the podium as the brave souls in the stands ducked for cover, had little concern for the weather or the empty seats.

"Reading out everyone's names and then singing the national anthem, it was probably better for us than the other two countries," Ciriello said.