gold coast if the opening was about history and traditions the signing off was all about celebration as gold coast threw a big party to mark the end of the 21st commonwealth games with the legendary boxer mc mary kom carrying the flag for india at the closing ceremonya packed carrara stadium bid goodbye to the thousands of athletes and officials who descended on this coastal city for 12 days of competition during which india pulled off its thirdbest ever medal count of 66 26 of them goldthe calibre of athletes has been unparalleled showcasing world record holders sporting greats and breakthrough performances from young athletes commonwealth games federation president louise martin said in her addressmary kom leads the indian contingent during the closing ceremony of commonwealth games pti photowhile the games is coming to a close the future of sport in the commonwealth is very bright indeed in fact in 2018 the commonwealth and commonwealth sport are more relevant than ever before she saidafter an opening that revolved around australias aboriginal heritage and one which stirred emotions it was all about letting hair down at the closingthere were performances by several of australias singing stars joined by flagwaving athletes the indian contingent was led by mary kom who claimed a gold medal after making her event debut at 35the ceremony also paid tribute to the 15000 volunteers called the games shapers for their dedication in making the event a success the volunteer force was made a part of the ceremonythe final farewell was given by representatives of language minority the yugambeh an aboriginal clan which is considered the custodian of queensland