Indian swimming has made Commonwealth Games history when the quartet of Virdhawal Khade, Anshul Kothari, Arjun Jayaprakash and Aaron D'Souza finished sixth to make the cut in men's 4x100m freestyle relay. India also qualified for the semifinals when Badrinath Melkote (men's 50m backstroke) and Shubha Chittaranjan (women's 50m butterfly) finished 14th and 16th in their respective events. Led by its biggest hope, Khade, the Indian team clocked 3:28.06s at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Aquatics Complex to make its maiden cut in the event. Excited at the results, national chief coach S Pradeep Kumar said, that the boys have made history. He said, we have made history by reaching the final for the first time in Commonwealth competition. Timing wise, the Indian quartet finished 12.87s behind preliminary round toppers — the Australian team of Kyle Morgan Richardson, Cameron Colin Prosser, James Magnussen and Tommaso William D'Orsogna. Competition in various disciplines began with eight gold medals up for grabs on Monday. On the day one, India's participation stretches across the several disciplines including Archery, Weightlifting, Gymnastics, Women's hockey, Lawn bowls, Swimming, Athletics heats and Tennis. Medal hopes for the country today are mainly centred around Tennis, Weight lifting and Table Tennis events. Swimming however, brought little hopes for the hosts with Australia and England dominating the event. In Tennis Men's Singles, India's Rohan Bopanna beat Robert Buyiniza of Uganda. Bopanna won in straight sets 6-1, 6-4 in the first round match. In the Women's singles, India's Rushmi Chakravarthy routed Lesotho's Pinki Agnes Montlha 6-0, 6-1 in the first round. The Lesotho player was no match to the far superior Indian, as she went down tamely without offering even a semblance of a fight. Sania Mirza and Leander Paes will be seen in action in the mixed doubles. Indian swimmer Arti Bajarang Ghorpade won in the opening heat of the Women's 200m free style Swimming. Arti easily won the first race, beating two other swimmers. Her victory was greeted with enthusiastic support from the spectators at the S.P. Mukherjee Aquatics Centre. Led by India's biggest hope in swimming — Virdhawal Khade, the India quartet clocked 3 minutes 28.06 seconds to make a cut for the final of the Men's 4x100m Freestyle relay, after they finished sixth today. The other three members of the team are Aaron Dsouza, Arjun Jayaprakash and Anshul Kothari. In men's 50m backstroke, Badrinath Melkote clocked 27.52 to qualify for the semifinals, while Subha Chittaranjan clocked 29.96 to enter the last four stage in women's 50m butterfly. However, India put up a disappointing show in all other categories, including women's 200m freestyle, men's 400m freestyle, women's 200m individual medley, men's 200m butterfly, women's 50m breaststroke, as none of the swimmers could qualify in these events. The competition today saw the formidable Australian team, followed by England and Canada establishing their dominance in the pool. India's gold medal hunt in the games will begin in right earnest, as the weightlifting events begins this afternoon. The hosts are considered to be the powerhouse in this event . Soniya Chanu is the favourite to win the yellow metal in the 48 kg women category. AIR correspondent reports that it would be no surprise if India grabs the first two places in this category as it is represented by another weightlifter Sandhya Rani Devi Atom. In the evening, the second gold medal in the 56 kg category in the men's event will be decided. India's Suken Dey and Srinivasa Rao Valluri will be seen in action. There are 15 golds for grabs in weightlifting. In Archery, the competition today features Dola Banerjee, Bombayala Devi Laisharam and Deepika Kumari in the Women's recurve Individual qualifications. In women's Hockey Group B preliminaries, New zealand beat Wales 5-1 today. New zealand had won bronze in the event in the 1998 commonwealth games AIR correspondent reports, Indian Women's Hockey team will start their Commonwealth Games campaign today against Scotland in their first Pool A match at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium. The Indian men's hockey team will start as favourites against a tricky Malaysia in their opening pool A encounter at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium on Tuesday. Indian men have never won a medal in CWG since hockey was introduced in 1998 at Kuala Lumpur, where they registered their best performance with a fourth-place finish. Going by the composition and past records of both the sides, India seem to hold the edge against their South East Asian rivals. Bad publicity in the run up to the games seems to be a thing of the past. Now all are in games mode after yesterday's gala opening ceremony. For the first time in the history of the Commonwealth Games, the athletes made their way into the stadium in the initial section of the opening ceremony. So that they also could witness the dazzling light, sound and music show depicting India's glorious culture and heritage. Everyone we spoke to had nothing to complain except praise for what they saw. The Common Wealth Games 2010 have come up for praise by the International media. Newspapers and wires have described the event as an ancient land opens its heart to the world. AIR Correspondent takes a look. The 19th Commonwealth Games was jointly declared open by President of India, Mrs Pratibha Devisingh Patil and Prince Charles of Britain. The Queen's baton was handed over by Beijing Olympic bronze medallist wrestler Sushil Kumar to Prince Charles who read out the Queen's message. President Smt. Pratibha Devi Singh Patil said sport, has always been, a powerful bridge, across cultures and people. Addressing jam packed stadium with a sitting capacity of 60 thousand people she asked participating countries to experience rich heritage and cultural diversity of India during their stay. In his address, Chairman of the Commonwealth organising committee, Suresh Kalmadi said, India is ready to host a great Commonwealth Games. He said, despite the adverse publicity, all the Commonwealth nations stood by India as Delhi games become the largest ever in the history of the Commonwealth Games. In his brief address, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh said, millions are waiting eagerly to watch the Games unfold. He said that the games are an occasion to uphold and renew the essential spirit of the Commonwealth that seeks to promote peace, equality and friendship among all people and nations.