New Delhi, July 6: The athletics contingent will jet off to Poland, the boxers would head to Ireland, while the weightlifters have already flown to Birmingham. The Glasgow Commonwealth Games might have been scaled down by the organisers but India is leaving no stone unturned to ensure a strong show.
The Games are scheduled to be held from July 23 to August 2 and will feature only 10 disciplines for the able-bodied and six for para-athletes.
The first to enter the Games Village would be the gymnasts on July 20 followed by boxers, and swimmers the next day.
Here is a look at the training plans of the Indian contingent heading into the big event that will yield a significantly lower medal count than last edition’s 61, including 22 gold, that also fetched the country a fairly good fourth-place finish in Birmingham.
All the tours have been sanctioned by the Sports Ministry’s Annual Competition and Training Calendar (ACTC) fund and its flagship Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).
Athletics
It would form the biggest chunk of 32 in the overall contingent size.
The group, which will feature stars such as decorated javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, sprinter Gurindervir Singh, long distance runner Gulveer Singh and steeplechaser Parul Chaudhary among others, will head to Poland’s Spala Olympic Training Centre in the next few days.
They will be based there before reaching Glasgow on July 25. They will be accompanied by a support staff of 14.
Boxing & Swimming
The 14-strong boxing team will head to Belfast in Ireland on July 10 for training before reaching Glasgow on July 21 along side the swimmers.
Butterfly specialist Sajan Prakash is already in Edinburgh for a three-week camp while the rest of the swimming contingent will be flying off on July 16 to either Scotland (Aberdeen or Stirling) or England (Stockport).
Weightlifting,Cycling & Judo
The weightlifters left for training at Warley Weightlifting Club in Birmingham on June 28 and will be based there till July 22 before joining the Indian contingent. Ditto for the six cyclists who will represent India. They are currently in France and will be based there till July 26.
The Games-bound 14 judokas are in Japan’s Tsakuba University currently to prepare for the mega-event and will be training there till July 17.
Gymnastics & Lawn Bowls
The eight-member gymnastics team, features four men and as many women including Pranati Nayak. While the men have left for South Essex Gymnastics Club in Essex England, the women will join them on July 3 before both groups enter the Games Village on July 20.
The lawn bowl squad of six was practising at Delhi Public School RK Puram in Delhi till June 24. But it has now flown off to Glasgow for intensive pre-competition training till July 23. (PTI)
