Delhi: the highs and lows

Five goodTom Daley: The 16-year-old, pictured, had endured a turbulent time since becoming world 10m platform champion in 2009. He won the 10m synchro with Max Brick before returning in the individual to produce a perfect dive prompting a clean sweep of maximum scores from the judges to be crowned champion.

Saina Nehwal: The 20-year-old badminton player is one of India's most high-profile athletes and is currently world ranked No 3. Nehwal had to wait until the last event of the Games for her final with Wong Mew Choo and the Malaysian triumphed 21-19 in the first game. However, Nehwal hit back to take the remaining games 23-21 21-13 to send the crowd at the Siri Fort Sports Complex wild.

Crowds: While initially the attendance at some venues was sparse, if not non-existent, numbers gradually rose. Once there and inspired, the Indian spectators were deafening.

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India's hockey victory over England: India reached their first Commonwealth Games men's hockey final when they came from behind to beat England on penalties. Goalkeeper Bharat Chetri was the hero when he saved Glenn Kirkham's flick and he was carried from the field by his team-mates amid scenes of bedlam.

Ceremonies: Colour, passion and culture marked the opening and closing ceremonies in Delhi. While not as lavish as some, they were evocative and marked a celebration of a Games which, although there were undeniable issues both during the build-up and duration, ultimately delivered.

Five bad

Organisation: The days immediately before the Games were chaotic. Venues were not ready, the athletes' village was described pre-Games as uninhabitable with reports of dogs roaming around and snakes spotted and a pedestrian footbridge collapsed near the athletics stadium.

Withdrawals: The calibre of the competition was hit when a number of high-profile athletes withdrew for different reasons.

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The competition missed the quality of world stars like Jamaican sprint duo Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell.

From the Home Nations, the likes of athletics world champions Jessica Ennis and Phillips Idowu and Olympic champion cyclists Sir Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton pulled out.

Sickness: While Delhi Belly was inevitable to some degree, sickness cut a swathe through the swimming teams competing at the Dr SP Mukherjee Aquatics Complex. All teams were affected forcing a number of withdrawals and altering the overall complexion of the event.

Drugs: As at every major Games, the spectre of performance-enhancing drugs raised its head.

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The women's 100m champion Osayemi Oludamola and men's 110m hurdles champion Samuel Okon – both from Nigeria – tested positive for a stimulant. India's 20km race walker Rani Yadav was also caught out after a positive test for a banned steroid.

Crowds: There were issues with tickets with reports of thousands being dumped in junkyards and none available at ticket windows.

At the venue, meanwhile, stringent security was off-putting leaving thousands of seats unfilled.

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