24 July,2026 08:57 AM IST | Mumbai | Ashwin Ferro
Neeraj Chopra, Lovlina Borgohain, Mirabai Chanu and Murali Sreeshankar. Pics/AFP
Having missed the 2022 CWG due to injury, Indian star Neeraj Chopra, 28, a 2018 Gold Coast CWG gold medallist, has been through an injury phase after breaking the 90m barrier at Doha last year for a personal best of 90.23m. He bagged 4th place at the Doha Diamond League (May 2026), but a gold at Glasgow will be tough with reigning Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem (Pak), Grenada's Anderson Peters, and Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage also in the fray.
Tokyo Olympics bronze medal-winning boxer Borgohain, 28, who has medalled at the Asian Games and World Championships too, is missing a CWG medal from her cabinet. With just five athletes in her category (75kg) at Glasgow, a medal is already confirmed for Borgohain. She will now do well to use her rich big-stage experience and good reach, thanks to her five-feet-10 height, to finish on the top step of the podium.
Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Chanu, 31, has been in top form recently having won the 2026 National Championships with three records (89kg snatch, a 116kg clean and jerk, and 205kg total). Having won gold at the 2022 Birmingham CWG, she's a favourite for the yellow metal again.
The reigning world champion (2025 World Championships in Liverpool), Lamboria, 24, enters the 57kg CWG draw as the highest-ranked boxer, making her a gold medal contender. She also won gold medals at the World Boxing Cup at Astana and Noida last year, besides bagging gold at the Asian Boxing Championships this year. Her tall structure (five-feet-nine) and sharp punches make her a gold medal favourite in Glasgow.
Murali Sreeshankar, 27, has been in good form this season, having leaped 8.15m at the India Athletics Series in Bengaluru before going much further with 8.38m at the national inter-state meet. The 2022 Birmingham CWG silver medallist should be able to leap for gold at Glasgow.
Chithravel, 25, finished fourth at the 2022 Birmingham CWG, where India's Eldhose Paul (17.03m) and Abdulla Aboobacker (17.02m) bagged gold and silver, so he has some unfinished podium business this time. And his Federation Cup distance of 17.08m keeps him in good stead to go atop that three-stepped structure.
Birmingham 2022 silver medal-winner Mann (+78 kg) was the only Indian judoka to make the 2024 Paris Olympics. With her sharp fighting intelligence and strong grip, she can convert last edition's silver to gold this time round.
