Indian athletes to try their luck at Commonwealth Games from 8th of April

Now that the Indian contingent has departed for the first major sporting event of 2018, i.e. the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, all eyes are set on the 225 sportspeople strong Indian contingent, who shall aim to better their medal tally, as well as their chances for Jakarta Asian Games and the much awaited 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The contingent also includes a refreshed, rejuvenated and raring to go track and field athletics team, who have cracked the new, rather competitive and strict standards set by the Athletics Federation of India, which aimed to bring up athletes who could match the world standards and give a tough run to the current world and Olympic champions.For example, if the world record for Men's 400 m. is 43.1 seconds, the Indians should clock nothing less than 44.7 seconds, if possible.

Though it is easier said than done, the ecosystem is changing, with the national record for this event having been broken more than once in less than 2 years. The current record of 45.32, set by Navy cadet Muhammad Anas, is nothing less than impressive and can be further shortened to break the 45-second barrier, which will place this guy at par with some of the best Asian runners, if not the world's best.

From javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra to the racewalkers in tow for the 20 km race walking event, we have some serious contenders for a podium finish, even a gold medal or two if possible. The athletes will fight it out at the Carrara Stadium in Gold Coast City from 8th April for a tryst with glory, as stated below:-

On 8th April, shotputter Tajinder Pal Singh Toor, who has become only the fourth Indian after Shakti Singh, Om Prakash Karhana and Inderjeet Singh to have breached the 20 m. mark and is aiming to breach the 21 m. mark will try his luck in the Men's Shot Put event. He shall be followed up by Assamese athletic sensation Hima Das, who came almost close to breaking the 14-year national record in Women's 400 m.event, held by legendary Olympian Manjeet Kaur, with a timing of 51.97 seconds at the Federation Cup Championships.

The following day, sprinter Ayyasamy Dharun will try his luck in the Men's 400 m. event, the first Indian sprinter to do so in this event on international soil ever since 'Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh ran all the way to the first historic gold at Cardiff edition in 1958. However, if he wishes to emulate this legend's performance, Ayyasamy will have to run the race of his life, for his best timing is just a little more than 48.2 seconds.

Ayyasamy shall be followed by cricketer turned national record-breaking high jumper Tejaswin Shankar, as well as his teammate Siddharth Yadav. if Tejaswin manages to jump the way he has in his national record performance, or even betters it, it shall be more than enough to put this lad in contention of a historic podium finish, since the silver medalist of the last edition had jumped exactly the height Tejaswin has jumped to break his own national record, i.e. 2.28 m.

The following day shall see Ayyasamy Dharun again in action in the preliminaries of Men's 400 m. hurdles, an event where he is a much better contender for the podium finish, owing to his national record-breaking performance of 49.51 seconds only a couple of months ago. He shall be followed up by Purnima Hembram, who shall be competing for Women's Heptathlon event, a first for Indian women athletes in years.

Purnima shall be followed up by Suriya Loganathan, who shall compete in the Women's 10000 m., the longest track event. The following day, the Indian competition shall be carried forward by Nayana James and Neena Pinto into the once known stronghold of India, Women's Long Jump, followed by Hima Das again, who shall try her luck in Women's 200 m.

On 12th April, legendary discus thrower Seema Antil Poonia and her teammate Navjeet Kaur Dhillon shall try their luck in the women's discus throw, followed up by Jinson Johnson, who shall compete in the Men's 1500 m. event on the following day.

The same day, India's 4*400 m. relay teams shall be in action, for both men and women. India, who have not won a medal in the women's section since Delhi 2010 edition, shall be looking forward to ending their medal drought.

Next in line shall be the legendary javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, the strongest bet for Indgold medal at the Commonwealth in Men's Javelin throw, along with Vipin Kasana, who mysteriously skipped the finals of the previous edition despite having made the cut.They shall be followed up by Arpinder Singh and Rakesh Babu AV, who shall be competing in the Men's Triple Jump category. Arpinder shall also be looking forward to breaking the national record, as well as change his medal colour from the bronze received in the previous edition at Glasgow.

The only schedule yet to come up is that of the Indian racewalkers, one of the strongest bets for a podium finish. National record holders Khushbir Kaur and Irfan Kolothum Thodi, along with their compatriots Soumya B and Manish Singh Rawat, who missed the podium by a few places at Rio Olympics, 2016, will attempt their tryst with glory.

Following is the lineup for Indian athletics team at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018:-

1. 8 April :- Men's Shot Put, Women's 400 m. [Preliminaries]
2. 9 April :- Men's 400 m. and Men's High Jump [Preliminaries]
3. 10 April :- Men's 400 m. hurdles, Women's Heptathlon [Preliminaries] & Women's 10000 m. [Medal Round]
4. 11 April :- Women's Long Jump and Women's 200 m. [Preliminaries]
5. 12 April :- Women's Discus Throw [Preliminaries]
6. 13 April:- Men's 1500 m., Men's and Women's 4*400 m. relay teams, Men's Javelin Throw, Men's Triple Jump [Preliminaries]