Melbourne, March 23:

Two Indian weightlifters tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, escalating a doping scandal that has loomed over the Commonwealth Games and the sport for weeks.

Indian team officials said they were notified late Thursday that Edwin Raju, who was fourth in the 56-kg division, and Tejinder Singh, who withdrew from the 85kg, failed pre-games tests four days before the opening ceremony.

Indian chef de mission HJ Dora, who is also head of India’s national weightlifting federation, said it would be “premature” to comment on any positive tests.

India is hosting the next edition of the Commonwealth Games at New Delhi and the doping cases were revealed hours before 2010 organisers were due to hold a dinner including Bollywood stars to showcase the city to delegates.

In another controversy, seven athletes from Sierra Leone joined a Tanzanian boxer and a Bangladeshi 400m runner on the list of athletes missing. Victoria state police were forming a task force to track down the missing athletes.

Robert Green, spokes-man for the Sierra Leone contingent, declined to identify the four male and three female athletes, but confirmed that the three women had failed to compete in a relay event.

The news for India was better on the shooting range, where five-gold winner Samaresh Jung took a day off to watch his wife, Anuja Jung, win gold in the 50-metre rifle, three-prone event. The family has eight medals here already — Samaresh’s five gold and a silver and Anuja’s gold and silver.

India also had a 1-2 finish in men’s 25-metre rapid fire pistol, where Vijay Kumar claimed his second gold by edging Pemba Tamag in a games record 778.2.

And defending champion India beat New Zealand 1-0 to advance to the women’s field hockey final against unbeaten Australia, a 3-0 semi-final winner over England.

Elsewhere, Canada’s Marie-Helene Premont dodged a kangaroo that hopped on the course to win the women’s mountain bike race from Rosara Joseph of New Zealand.

In the men’s 53-kilometre race, England finished first and second, with Liam Killeen winning gold, Oli Beckingsale the silver and Canadian Seamus McGrath the bronze.