All eyes will be on the 215-member Indian contingent which will take part in the upcoming 2022 Commonwealth Games, starting in Birmingham from July 28. Shooting events won't be part of the games in this edition after the governing council scrapped the sport. During the last Commonwealth Games, which were held in Gold Coast, Australia, India secured 3rd position with a total of 66 medals which included 26 gold, 20 silver and 20 bronze. Ahead of the start of the multi-sport event, here are five athletes who are favourites to win a medal for India.
PV Sindhu: After settling for a bronze and silver in the last two Commonwealth Games, PV Sindhu will eye a gold this time around. Sindhu later won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 after defeating He Bing Jiao in the third-place match. As of latest, Sindhu won the 2022 Singapore Open title, beating Asian Champion Wang Zhiyi of China in the final.
Mirabai Chanu: The Tokyo Olympics silver medallist would be another star from whom India would be expecting a medal. The weightlifter's best performance is 207kg (88kg 119kg). Meanwhile, the defending champion's nearest rival could be Nigeria's Stella Kingsle, who has managed only 168kg (72kg 96kg) till date. She had won the gold in the 2018 edition in the women's 48kg category. She had lifted 196 kgs to lift the medal.
Nikhat Zareen: Eyes will also be on reigning world champion Nikhat Zareen. She is the fifth Indian woman pugilist to be crowned as a world champion. Zareen rose to fame when she won the World Junior Boxing Championships in the 50 kg category in 2011. She is one of the favourites to win a medal this time.
Manika Batra: After collecting four medals, including two gold medals, Manika Batra will look to do even better this time around. She is currently the top-ranked India table tennis player, and is currently ranked 41st in the ITTF women's singles rankings.
Bajrang Punia: The Indian wrestler is a two-time Asian and Commonwealth Games medallist. Notably, he won a silver medal in the 2014 Asian Games and bettered it with a gold in the 2018 edition of the tournament. In the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Punia had won a gold medal in the men's freestyle 65kg. Meanwhile, in the Tokyo Olympics 2020, Punia won a bronze medal.