Colombo, Aug 28: The 10th South Asian Games dished out a mediocre fare with top names in the region largely keeping out to prepare for tougher competitions ahead, but the multi-disciplinary event did succeed in providing the right launching pad to youngsters and those seeking to stage a comeback.

India expectedly romped home with the highest number of medals to reassert their regional supremacy, but their show here would count only if they manage to translate even a half of it at the Asian Games in Doha later this year.

With 118 gold,69 silver and 47 bronze, India exceeded their tally of 103 gold medals won in the previous edition of the Games in Islamabad in 2004.Be it the swimming pool or the track and field events, the Indians made their presence felt in almost every discipline, which meant Pakistan and Sri Lanka were left fighting for the runner up slot on the medals tally.

Pakistan finished with 43 gold, 44 silver and 71 bronze, while Sri Lanka's performance was noteworthy as well with 37 gold, 63 silver and 78 bronze medals.

Adding spark to the otherwise lacklustre Games was the presence of India's top athlete Anju Bobby George and Sri Lankan sprint star Susanthika Jayasinghe, both making a comeback after injury-induced layoffs.

The two may not have reproduced their best, but the gold medals they won would serve as a morale booster in their quest to regain their vintage form.

Anju leapt 6.42m, a far cry from her personal best of 6.83 achieved at the Athens Olympic Games but at least the Chennai-based athlete could at least guage her current form.

Susanthika did not disappoint her home crowd after all, bagging gold in 100m, 200m and the women's shorter relay to make a golden return to the international stage after a two-year sabbatical.

For all those who had written off the controversial athlete, her performance was indeed surprising despite the fact that she struggled to keep pace with her previous best timings.

But as Susanthika said, she has at least made a start to reach the take off point again.

For both Anju and Susanthika, the competitions were more about the battle with themselves rather than the rest of the field, given the quality, or rather lack of it, of the opposition. "I have to run with myself," was Susanthika's reply when asked about who she feared among her rivals, an apt reflection of the reality.

Susanthika's exploits notwithstanding, India left a mark in the showpiece track and field events, bagging 15 gold, 14 silver and 16 bronze medals.

Sri Lanka finished with just one gold less than India, serving a timely warning to their neighbours ahead of the Asian Games.

The most impressive Indian athlete was Pinky Pramanik who ran away with the gold in her pet 400m and 800m events before adding a third in 4x400m relay.

With successive wins in the Asian Grand Prix meets in Bangalore and Pune, Pinky would be the athlete to watch out for in Doha.

India's long distance runner Chatoli Hamza was one of the few who improved upon his own record, in 1500m, to hold promise of better performances to come.

Sri Lanka's unheralded RDUS Surendra, who won the blue riband 100m sprint and Rohan Pradeep Kumar, gold medallist in 200m, 400m and 4x400m men's relay, were among those who left a lasting impact on the Games.

The two sports which India clearly dominated were swimming and shooting.

The Indians fished out a record 32 gold, 18 silver and 3 bronze medals from the pool which also saw Sri Lankan teenager Mayumi Raheem splashing herself to as many as 10 medals, a feat unmatched by any other athlete.

However, India missed their best sportspersons in men's squash and a few shooting events.

Absence of the likes of Jaspal Rana, Abhinav Bindra and Avneet Kaur meant India ended up conceding medals to Pakistan in a few categories but overall they won 19 gold, 11 silver and 5 bronze to emerge runaway winners.

In squash, world number 50 Joshna Chinappa ensured India pocketed both the individual and team honours in the women's section.

But in the men's section, the absence of Saurabh Ghosal and Ritwik Bhattacharya meant Pakistan romped home with the gold in both individual and team events.

The Indians reigned supreme in table tennis, lapping up all the seven gold medals on offer besides winning four silver and one bronze.

Veteran Mouma Das and champion paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal stood out with their unmatched performances in both the individual and team competitions.

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