NEW Delhi, India:

Jamaica had a slow day on the track yesterday evening at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and, as expected, struggled to send any strong signals, while sprint hurdler Andrea Bliss just missed out on a medal in the women's 100m hurdles final.

Bliss, who finished second at Jamaica's National Senior Championships earlier this year, finished a close fourth in the final in 13.28 seconds.

The event was won by Australia's Sally Pearson, 12.67, while Angela Whyte (Canada), 12.92 took silver ahead of Andrea Miller (New Zealand), 13.25, barely bettering Bliss for the bronze.

"I tried my best and I believe I ran a pretty good race. I was in medal contention until I hit the last hurdle and that's what threw me off," said Bliss after the race. "I'm disappointed because I know I can do better than this."

The men's 4x100m provided the only real glimmer of hope for the Jamaicans, qualifying for the finals with the third-fastest time, 39.00 seconds. The team of 100m champion Lerone Clarke, Remaldo Rose, Steve Slowly and Rasheed Dwyer finished third behind Canada, 38.45 seconds and England, 38.67, in their heat.

Dwyer told The Gleaner that the team has a lot more to give and will be going all out in the final, as they look to defend the title the country won at the last Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, four years ago.

"We have some things to work on, we know we can do better and tomorrow we are surely going to do better," said Dwyer, who ran the anchor-leg for the team.

"Tomorrow (today) is the important day and we will come good."

The men's 4x400m relay team struggled to qualify for today's final, advancing as one of the fastest losers with a time of 3:06.65 seconds after finishing fourth in their heat. They will need a much-improved performance if they are to stand a chance of earning a medal.

Andron Findlay received the baton almost 10 metres clear of his closest opponent after a brilliant third leg by Ricardo Cunningham, but somehow managed to finish down the track.

Davita Prendergast, Nadia Cunningham, Tanice Barnett and Dominique Blake finished sixth in the women's 4x400m heat in 3:42.31 seconds and will not feature in the final.

The women's 4x100m relay team will face the starters this morning at 7:25.

Fitness concern

The Jamaican team is expected to come from Yanique Boothe, Shanna Thomas, Audra Segree and sprint hurdler Bliss. There is, however, some concern over Boothe's fitness as she has been receiving treatment for an injury over the past couple of days.

Jabbari Ennis failed to make a mark in the men's pole vault final, failing to clear 4.80m with his three attempts.

The Sunshine Girls will look to secure a place in the gold medal match when they face New Zealand in the semi-finals of the netball competition at 4:30 a.m. Jamaica time at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex today.

A win for the Connie Francis-coached girls will pit them against either Australia or England, who will play in the other semi-final.

It was the end of the road for history-making badminton player Gareth Henry, who became the first Jamaican in several years to play at the Round of 16 stage of the competition.

Henry lost 11-21, 14-21 to England's Carl Baxter after 20 minutes to end what has been described as a run that showed the true potential of the youngster who will be trying to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Garron Palmer joined Henry in the men's doubles competition and the two only survived 17 minutes, as India's Rupesh Kallyad and Sanave Arattukulan eliminated them 2-0 (11-21, 7-21).

In table tennis, Kane Watson and Imani McPherson went down 11-9, 6-11, 7-11, 7-11 to South Africans Shane Overmayer and Theo Cogill in their doubles clash, while Joseph Dibbs and Simon Tomlinson were also unsuccessful against Scotland's Craig Howieson and Gavin Rumgay.