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The 2014 Commonwealth Games (CWG) to be held in Glasgow, Scotland will start on 23rd July. Sportspersons from 71 nations will be contesting in 17 sports and 261 medal events.
India finished second at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, making it India’s best CWG performance till date. India is sending a contingent of 224 athletes comprising of Olympic medalists, Asian Games winners and debutants .
Let us take a look at 6 players who have an excellent chance of making the nation proud.
Krishna Poonia
This 32 year old discus thrower is the gold medal winner in 2010 Commonwealth games with the throw of 61.51 meters and became the first Indian women to win Gold in a track and field event in CWG.
In 2012, London Olympics she finished an impressive sixth with the best throw of 63.62 m.
On 8th May 2012 in Hawaii, USA she bettered her personal record and also made the national record which now stands at 64.76 m.
With a record like this, she is a clear contender to win the coveted CWG medal.
PV Sindhu
At just 19 years of age PV Sindhu has achieved many things. She was once ranked 3 in BWF Junior rankings. Currently, she ranks 10th in Badminton World Federation Ranking.
In 2012, she beat Japanese Player Nozomi Okuhara by 18-21, 21-17, 22-20 to win the Asia Youth Under 19 Championship.
In 2013, she won the Malaysian Grand Prix and also became the first Indian women to win a medal in singles at the World Championships.
She also went on to win the Macau Grand Prix by defeating Canada’s Michelle Lee by 21-15, 21-12 in 37 minutes.
This Arjuna Award winner will be making her debut this year in the CWG and all eyes will be on her to win the medal. Going by her recent form it’s not a tough task.
Shiva Thapa
This 20 year old boxer is making all the right noises to prove himself credible for winning a CWG medal. He has 10 gold, one silver and 3 bronze medals from the 16 national and international tournaments he has participated in.
In 2011, he beat World No 2 Delakliev Detelin of Bulgaria to win the Belgrade Winner Tournament.
In 2012, in the Asian Olympic Qualifiers he defeated Syria’s Wessam Salamana to win the gold medal and consequently became the youngest Indian boxer to qualify for the Olympics.
In 2013, he won the bronze medal in the Khabarovsk International Competition held in Russia.
Gagan Narang
This Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award winner opened India’s tally of medals in 2012 London Olympics by winning the bronze in 10m air rifle event.
Along with 10m Air rifle, he also participates in 50m Rifle Prone and 50m Rifle 3 Positions event. He has won 4 gold medals apiece in both 2006 Melbourne and 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.
He also holds the world record for the 10m Air Rifle event with the personal best of 600/600. His consistent performances and calm demeanor makes him a worthy candidate for winning a medal in 2014 CWG.
Yogeshwar Dutt
This 31 year old wrestler from Haryana won the Bronze medal in 60 kg freestyle weight category at 2012 London Olympics.
He came under the spotlight when he won the Bronze medal at 2006 Asian games despite having lost his father just 9 days before he was supposed to board the flight.
Previously he had also participated in 2004 Athens Olympics and had secured the 18th position.
In 2010 Delhi Commonwealth games he won the gold medal for India after overcoming a career threatening knee injury.
With such excellent performances under pressure he warrants his name to be included in CWG 2014 medal contenders.
Sushil Kumar
He is the first Indian to win individual medals in two consecutive Olympics. He achieved this feat when he won the Bronze medal in Beijing Olympics 2008 and silver in 2012 London Olympics.
Born to a DTC bus driver life hasn’t exactly been a bed of roses for Sushil Kumar. He has trained under really tough conditions such as sharing mattresses and sharing dormitories with 20 others.
In 2010 he became the first Indian to win the gold medal at FILA 2010 World Wrestling Championship in Moscow by beating Russia’s Alan Gogaev in the finals.
He also won the gold medal in 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games beating South Africa’s Heinrich Barnes.
