Athletes set for a tough battle

 Lacking in preparation and with most of their top stars struggling, India will find it hard to match their 2010 show when the track and field events of the 20th edition of the Commonwealth Games kickstart here on Sunday.

India had won 12 medals, including two gold, in Delhi but they are set to lose out on medals this time around as they have come to Scotland woefully short on exposure. Even the highly optimistic are predicting only a maximum of three medals.

Except for US-based men’s discus thrower Vikas Gowda, none of the Indian athletes have done anything noteworthy. Gowda, himself has not been consistent despite starting well while women discus throwers Krishna Poona, who is the defending champion, and Seema Punia too haven’t done anything spectacular. Women’s 4x400M relay quartet has an outside chance for a medal but they too face stiff competition.

The Indians begin their campaign with men’s shot put qualifying round on Sunday, with Om Prakash Singh Karhana being the sole challenger. Sharadha Narayana (women’s 100M heats) and M R Poovamma (400M heats) will be on the track while another spriner H M Jyothi, will be running only the relay as she has not been given an entry in the 100M.

Indian team head coach Bahadur Singh told PTI that he would be happy if the athletes could come up even with their season’s best. “I don’t predict how many medals we will win or who will win. I will be happy if each of the athletes come up with their season’s best,” said Bahadur.

Gowda had a great start to the season with a second place finish at Doha Diamond League meeting in May, hitting 63.23. He went on to set a season’s best of 65.62 at the Tucson Elite Classic in United States but struggled at Rome and New York legs of the Diamond League.

Poonia is the best medal hope among Indian women. However, she has been struggling for form after suffering a groin injury post 2012 London Olympics. She finished outside podium in the 2013 Asian Championships in Pune and has not touched 60M since then, with a 59.17M throw being her best last week.

Triple jumper Arpinder Singh, who is now both the Commonwealth and Asian leader this season with a 17.17M in Lucknow in June, will be under pressure to repeat that feat. In women’s high jump Sahana Kumari is India’s hope while in long jump, Mayookha Johny will be lining up.

In women’s 800M, Tintu Luka does not have much of a chance in a world class field. The 25-year-old has a personal best and national record of 1:59.17 which she set in 2010.
Another star of the 2010 Delhi CWG is Ashwini Akkunji, who came out last year from a two-year ban for a doping offence. Ashwini would like to prove that she is among the best in the country but it would be really difficult to win a medal here in the 400M hurdles.

In other events, there will be a clutch of top athletes in action. Sprint stars from Jamaica and Kenyan middle distance runners will rule the roost again. Usain Bolt will be running only in relay but Jamaica has enough firepower to dominate the sprints. David Rudisha will be hoping to strike gold in the 800M even as he leads a Kenyan conquest.