With the Commonwealth Games off to a start in Glasgow, sports followers will be watching the multi-sport extravaganza unfold with interest over the next fortnight. India expects a clutch of medals at these Commonwealth Games, with aficionados bullish on Indian athletes’ prospects in sports like weightlifting and shooting especially, traditional strongholds for India.

In a country where cricket and cricketers are deified, it is refreshing when the focus shifts to other sports. India is making concerted attempts to develop into a multi-sport nation with a thrust on medals on international platforms like these, so it is important that we do look at the Games as one more step in that long and still incomplete journey.