Pittman easily retained her 400 metres hurdles title to regain the respect she had lost after a series of public gaffes which culminated in an unpopular decision to pull out of the Queen's baton relay on the eve of the Games.

"It's the most amazing experience of my life," said the 23-year-old, dubbed 'Jana the drama' by local media.

"It's a bit of a relief. I was very, very nervous going into the race but I wanted it so much it was ridiculous.

"I had a job to do and everything happened the right way but the Commonwealth Games is a stepping stone, the ultimate is the Olympics."

But away from the Melbourne Cricket Ground track and field action, two Indian weightlifters brought new doping shame to their country.

The scandal came on a day when India should have been celebrating three shooting golds, which took their overall total to 19, seeing their women's hockey team make the final and three of their boxers marching one step closer to gold.

Team sources said that Edwin Raju, who finished fourth in the men's 56kg weightlifting category, and Tejinder Singh, who withdrew from the 85kg on Monday, tested positive for performance enhancing drugs just before the Games started.

"The two lifters have been told verbally that they have been caught for drug abuse. They have already left the Games village," the Indian team source told AFP.

India has a chequered history in the sport.

Their weightlifting federation was suspended for one year in 2004 when three female lifters -- Kunjurani Devi, Pratima Kumari and Sanamacha Chanu -- tested positive at the Athens Olympics.

Two men's weightlifters Krishnan Madasamy and Sateesh Rai tested positive at the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002, while Shailaja Pujari, a gold medal hopeful here, failed a doping test before the Games and didn't travel to Melbourne.

Ironically, Devi returned to action here and took gold in the 48kg class.

The latest scandal is particularly embarrassing as New Delhi will host the next Commonwealth Games in 2010.

Furthermore, under international rules, the Indian federation could face another year's ban for having three lifters return positive tests in the space of 12 months.

Meanwhile, in front of 80,000 people at the MCG, the Jamaican sprint juggernaut powered on with Omar Brown winning the men's 200m and Sherone Simpson taking the women's equivalent.

South Africa notched up two more titles with Anika Martin, just 19, winning the women's high jump and Louis van Zyl taking an impressive win in the men's 400m hurdles.