India pins hopes on shuttlers, boxer

LONDON • India's Commonwealth Games ambitions have been badly hit by the last-minute withdrawal of Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra but they still have high hopes of gold in several sports, including boxing and badminton.

The Commonwealth's most populous country at over 1.4 billion is not generally known as a global sporting powerhouse - except for cricket and badminton - but they have regularly performed well at the Games.

India came third in the medal table behind hosts Australia, and England, at the last edition on the Gold Coast in 2018, and were in the top five at the previous four editions. But they could have a tough job replicating that success in Birmingham.

Shooting, traditionally India's most successful discipline, has been dropped from the programme for these Games, much to India's anger, while designated flagbearer Chopra will not defend his Commonwealth javelin gold after pulling out earlier this week due to injury.

They may not do as well this time but there are still several gold medal hopefuls among India's more than 200-strong contingent.

Their boxing squad will be without injured six-time world champion Mary Kom, but boast of her heir apparent, Nikhat Zareen, who won the 52kg gold at the world championships in May.

She will be competing in the 50kg category and has been billed as the favourite.

Double Olympic medallist P.V. Sindhu will also lead India's strong badminton challenge and she prepared for Birmingham by clinching the Singapore Open title earlier this month.

Lakshya Sen, the men's world No. 10, is another with medal hopes and India's men's badminton team are still buoyant after winning the prestigious Thomas Cup, the world team championship, for the first time in May.

The men's hockey team, who are coming off their Tokyo Games bronze - the side's first podium finish in over four decades - will also look to clinch their first Commonwealth gold after a disappointing 2018 campaign.

Their female counterparts will equally be aiming to finish on the podium but they ended only joint-ninth with China at the recent World Cup in Spain.

"Unfortunately, we couldn't play to our potential at the FIH Hockey Women's World Cup... but we are very determined to turn our form around at the Commonwealth Games," captain Savita Punia told Hockey India.

The women cricketers, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, also have a shot at glory as women's T20 makes its Games debut, while they also have a chance in wrestling and weightlifting, although there is no men's cricket here.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE