Published>Wed, Oct 06 10 11:16 AM
The missing star power of the likes of Usain Bolt might have undermined the blue riband status of track and field events in the Commonwealth Games but it promises to be an enthralling affair with home athletes like PT Usha-protege Tintu Luka gearing up to help the country their best ever show in the mega event.
The track and field events begin today at the showpiece Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium with two medal events in women's javelin throw final, men's 5,000m race final and para sports women's shot put final.
Other events today are 100m race (men and women) heats, women's 400m race heats, men's shot put preliminary round and women's para sports 100m race heats.
India have won just nine track and field medals, including a gold won by 'Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh in men's quarter mile or 440 yards race in Cardiff, Wales in 1958.
But this time the country, which is fielding a 110-strong squad, including 52 women, the largest in their history, can look forward to at least six.
In 2006 Melbourne Games, India won two silver - Seema Antil in women's discus throw and women's 4X400 relay.
"This time we have the chance to have the best medal haul in our Commonwealth Games history. We are aiming for six to eight medals. It is a very tough world-class competition in athletics as competitors from Jamaica, Kenya, Great Britain, Australia, South Africa are taking part," Athletics Federation of India Lalit Bhanot said.
India are fielding nine athletes in the men's 100m led by Abdul Najib Qureshi while the women's sprint will have eight runners from the country today with S Geetha and H M Jyothi spearheading the challenge.
They will have a tough task to qualify for the semifinals not to speak of the final with the field still strong for them despite the pull out of some big names.
Historically more than 60 Commonwealth Games champions - both male and female -- have also won Olympic gold, and despite the pull-out of the likes of Bolt, Asafa Powell, Philip Idowu, the Delhi Games will still see 10 of the gold medallists at 2009 World Championships in Berlin.
Jamaican Bolt, the biggest name in athletics, cited a back problem as the reason for his absence while former 100m world record holder Asafa Powell said the the competition came too late in the year.
In the absence of Bolt and Powell in the 100m, European silver medallist Mark Lewis-Francis of England will be the favourite while Jamaica will look to Oshane Bailey.
Africans are set to dominate the 5,000m with Kenyan former world champion Eliud Kipchoge in the field alongside Mark Kiptoo, who has clocked 12:53.46 this year.
India are fielding Sunil Singh and Sandeep Batham in men's 5,000m race and it will be a tall order for them to finish in top five.
South African defending champion Sunette Viljoen is clear favourite to defend her javelin title after throwing an impressive 66.38m this year.
Australia's Kimberley Mickle and England's Laura Whittingham are also both 60m throwers this year. S Saraswathi is the lone competitor for India.
Although the Commonwealth boasts four of the top six women's 100m sprinters in the world in the Jamaican trio of Veronica Campbell-Brown, Shelly-Ann Fraser and Kerron Stewart, and Trinidad's Kelly-Ann Baptiste, none of them will be present in Delhi.
Their absence means 2008 Olympic long jump bronze medallist Blessing Okagbare of Nigeria and England's Laura Turner are the main challengers for gold.
India is expecting two medals from women's discus throw out of the three in the team -- Krishna Poonia, Harwant Kaur and national record holder and Melbourne Games silver medallist Seema Antil.
Poonia, who recorded her career best of 63.69m in April in USA, is ranked second among Commonwealth athletes in the International Amateur Athletics Federation list of season's top performers behind defending champion Elizna Naude (64.49m) of South Africa.
World champion and season's leader among Commonwealth athletes, Dani Samuels (65.58m) of Australia has pulled out citing security and health concerns.
Kaur has a season's best of 60.66m which she recorded at Patiala in August while Antil has 60.56m as best this year, much lower than her national record of 64.84 set in 2004.
Naude had won gold in Melbourne with an effort of 61.55m.
Kaur has a personal best of 63.05m which she did six years ago and had done 61.08 in 2008 though in the last two months she has not been able to go past the 61m mark.
In women's 800m, Luka has improved by leaps and bounds in recent months and she broke Shiny Wilson's 15-year-old national record last month in the VTB Bank Continental Cup by running 1:59.17 to finish a creditable fifth.
After a spate of withdrawals, including Beijing Olympics gold medallist and season's leading timer Nancy Jebet Lagat (1:57.75) of Kenya and world champion Caster Semenya of South Africa, Luka is now second among Commonwealth top performers participating in the Games behind Melbourne silver medallist Jamaican Kenia Sinclair (1:58.16).
Other top athletes who have pulled out of 800m include Melbourne gold medallist Kenyan Janeth Jepkosgei (1:57.84), Britons Jemma Simpson (1:58.74) and Jennifer Meadows (1:58.88).
Fast improving women jumper Mayookha Johny is another medal hope in both long jump and triple jump. She broke Anju Bobby George's 2002 triple jump national record of 13.67m by clearing 13.68m at the National Inter-State Meet in August.
In long jump, Mayookha's 6.64m is seventh among the season's best Commonwealth performers while she is sixth in triple jump.
Another event in which India can expect a medal is in women's 4X400m relay. The Indian quartet of Rajwinder Kaur, Manjith Kaur, Soman Chitra and Pinki Parmanik had won a silver in Melbourne with an effort of 3:29.57.
Among men, India's medal hopes are mainly on shot putters Om Prakash and Saurabh Vij who was included in the last minute after his provisional suspension for flunking a NADA dope test was lifted.
Vij recently recorded a staggering 20.65m in the Delhi Athletics Championships though his effort was not counted as national record as it came in a state event which did not follow standard rules including dope tests.
The IAAF website though took note of Vij's effort which is below the Commonwealth best of Canadian Dylan Armstrong's 21.58m. Dorian Scott of Jamaica, who won silver in Melbourne four years ago with an effort of 19.75m, is second with season's best of 20.55.
Om Prakash and Great Britain's Carl Myerscough have same 19.99m to be in fifth place in season's best efforts.
Om Prakash, who have a personal best of 20.02m recorded last year in Chennai said he wood look to clear 20.50m for a medal.
"I am looking to clear at least 20.50m which I think should be enough for a medal. Winning gold depends on the performance of other competitors. Armstrong could only have 19.70 in the VTB Bank Continental Cup on Saturday so you never know," he said.
Another athlete who can win a medal is Vikas Gowda in discus throw as he is third in season's top list with his 63.22 in United States in May. The best among Commonwealth athletes this season is 65.83 by Benn Harradine of Australia while Brett Morse of Great Britain had 63.35.
Renjith Maheswari is another medal prospect in men's triple jump which will, however, lose some sheen after the
withdrawal of world and defending champion Philip Idowu of England.
Renjith is now the fifth among the Commonwealth best performers with 17.00m and if he can improve his performance a bit notches up he can be on podium.
Meanwhile Australia, who won 16 gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze medals in track and field in Melbourne in 2006, has a 57-strong team, spearheaded by Commonwealth, Olympic and world pole vault champion Steve Hooker.
They would look to dominate the discipline which is offering 46 gold medals (23 men and 23 women). Despite a depleted squad, Kenya would also look to dominate the middle distance.
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