Pullela Gopichand leads Indian Commonwealth hopes
N Ananthanarayanan
Badminton player Pullela Gopichand will hope to surmount a tough field for the men's singles gold as he leads India's medal hopes at the Commonwealth Games starting in Manchester on Thursday.
The 2001 All England singles champion is striving to overcome the absence of match-play because of recent injuries but remains India's top contender.
India have entered 10 disciplines at the July 25 to August 4 Games but pin their big hopes mainly on badminton, weightlifting and shooting -- which won them most of their 25 medals, seven of them gold, in Malaysia four years ago.
"I was injured a while back...I am almost there and the progress has been satisfactory," the 28-year-old Gopichand told Reuters by telephone from Bangalore.
India, the most populous Commonwealth nation with more than a billion people, is sending 148 members -- including 106 athletes -- aiming to improve upon its seventh place in 1998.
Australia, hosts England and Canada have shown themselves to be way ahead of the rest in the 72-nation Games, while India have been happy to be among the top of the second-rung contenders.
RANKING DOWN
Gopichand hopes he can better his bronze effort in singles at Kuala Lumpur to emulate compatriots Prakash Padukone and Syed Modi, who won gold in 1978 and 1982.
He lifted his side to the men's team silver behind hosts Malaysia four years ago but has seen his world ranking slip to 26 from seven a year ago due to an injury-blighted year.
He said: "It will be a tough tournament. The Malaysians are good and there are others like Richard Vaughan of Wales and England."
Indian women also did well in Malaysia four years ago, where their top woman player Aparna Popat took silver behind Kelly Morgan of Wales and led her country to the team bronze.
But this time India are concerned after the organisers reverted to a single, mixed team competition.
Chief coach Syed Arif described the change in the team event -- to two singles and three doubles rubbers -- as a "troublesome job" because India have always been weak in doubles.
WEIGHTLIFTERS UPBEAT
India's hopes for improving upon their medal haul four years ago also lie with their 13-member weightlifting squad, which includes seven in the newly introduced women's section.
Having won 13 medals, three of them gold, from an eight-man squad four years ago, the officials are upbeat.
"We may return with roughly 25 medals," Balbir Singh Bhatia, an Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) official told Reuters.
The women's contingent will be without Karnam Malleswari, who won India's only bronze medal in Sydney, as she has not resumed training since becoming a mother.
But Bhatia said the ban on Nigeria after four of their lifters tested positive for drugs, should help India's cause.
Expectations will be high from India's shooters following international exposure over the last few years since winning seven medals in Malaysia in 1998.
Veteran Anjali Vedpathak, who recently qualified for the 2004 Athens Olympics by bagging a World Cup medal, and her young male counterpart Abhinav Bindra are key medal hopes in rifle shooting.
Jaspal Rana, 26, will aim for his third straight centrefire pistol gold, having won the event first in Victoria in 1994.
Dingko Singh, a bantamweight gold medallist in the 1998 Asian Games, and Jeetinder Kumar, who won a middleweight silver in Malaysia four years ago, head a list of seven boxers.
