Commonwealth Games begins this Thursday in Birmingham. The sporting action gets underway on Friday. India have established themselves as one of the powerhouses in the quadrennial tournament over the editions with regular top-four finishes since the turn of the 21st century. This time too, the Indian contingent, with more than 200 athletes, will be aiming to carry forward the legacy. The news of Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra pulling out from the Games came as a shock for India and his fans, with the javelin thrower being a top medal contender for the country. Chopra had just won a historic silver at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, and has broken his personal best/national record twice in the last one month or so. Despite the setback, there are quite a few athletes in the Indian camp who are considered as big medal contenders in their respective disciplines. TimesofIndia.com here looks at five of the top Indian medal contenders, who are expected to receive laurels for the country at the Games. PV SindhuSport: Badminton Event(s): Women's singles, mixed team Age: 27 years old World ranking: 7th (As on July 26, 2022) Major achievements:Olympics: Silver (2016 Rio), Bronze (2020 Tokyo) World Championships: Gold (2019 Basel), Silver (2018 Nanjing, 2017 Glasgow), Bronze (2014 Copenhagen, 2013 Guangzhou) Asian Games: Silver (2018 Jakarta - singles), Bronze (2014 Incheon - team) Commonwealth Games: Gold (2018 Gold Coast - mixed team), Silver (2018 Gold Coast - singles), Bronze (2014 Glasgow - singles)
