With Neeraj Chopra in top form, India is aiming for a record medal haul in athletics

India are targeting their best-ever athletics medal haul at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, with head athletics coach Radhakrishnan Nair sounding confident ahead of the 32-member squad that takes to the track in Glasgow. The head coach has pinned his hopes on fit and sacked Neeraj Chopra, who is returning to action after a lingering back injury that kept him on the sidelines for most of last season.

Speaking to PTI, Nair said the 32-member Indian athletics contingent is aiming to win more medals than the eight it won at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, including two or three golds. India has never won more than two athletics golds in a single edition of the Games, with the mark at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

NEERAJ COMES BACK FROM INJURY

Chopra, who arrived in Glasgow on Friday, is central to India’s medal hopes. The javelin star returns to the Commonwealth Games after missing the 2022 edition due to injury. He won gold at the 2018 Gold Coast Games with a throw of 86.47m.

The Olympic champion suffered an interrupted build-up to Glasgow after suffering a lower back injury just before the World Championships in September 2025. He has competed just once this season, finishing fourth at the Doha Diamond League in June with a throw of 85.69m.

However, Nair believes Chopra is now in the best physical condition he has seen him in a long time.

“Chopra is in perfect shape physically. I haven’t seen him this good for a long time. He is very confident and we can expect a very good performance from him,” Nair told PTI.

“I don’t have to tell you the color of the medal, but he is very confident that he will do his best.

A STRONG FIELD of Javelin at CWG 2026

Chopra will face a strong field in Glasgow, with Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage, Grenada’s Anderson Peters and Pakistan’s defending champion Arshad Nadeem among the contenders. Nadeem, the reigning Olympic champion, will be one of Chopra’s biggest rivals.

India will also have Rohit Yadav in men’s javelin. Rohit threw a personal best of 87.05 last month and could enter medal contention if he can reproduce that form in Glasgow.

The men’s javelin qualifying round is scheduled for July 30, with the final taking place on July 31.

The Indian athletics contingent has several other medal prospects, giving Nair confidence that the team can surpass its performance in Birmingham.

“We will go better than Birmingham and win more medals. Also, we hope to win two or three gold medals, although I can’t say which events we will do that from,” said Nair.

India’s only athletics gold in Birmingham came from triple jumper Eldhose Paul, who will miss the Glasgow Games as he continues his rehabilitation from an injury surgery.

However, Nair believes India have enough depth to compensate for his absence.

“We have two javelin throwers in contention for medals, two long jumpers who can go over 8.20m, two triple jumpers who can go over 17m. We also have a high jumper who recently broke 2.30m.”

“Among other athletes there are Gulveer Singh in the long track and Parul Chaudhary (women’s 3000m steeplechase). So overall we expect more medals this time than in 2022.”

Tejaswin Shankar, who competes in the decathlon, could also add to India’s medal prospects.

If India manage to win three athletics gold medals in Glasgow, it would mark the country’s best ever haul in the event at the Commonwealth Games. With Chopra leading the charge, India will be hoping their strongest athletics contingent in years can turn that ambition into a record-breaking campaign.

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Issued by:

Kingshuk Kusari

Published on:

26 Jul 2026 07:10 IST