India’s foreign table tennis coach Peter Engel says he expects three medals from his wards at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, two less than the record five the squad managed at home in Delhi four years ago.
Engel, who took charge last October, said his assessment is based on current form and the fact that India will not enjoy home support like last time. “I am very happy with way the boys are shaping up. The women’s players, as I have said in the past, need more foreign exposure to improve their game,” Engel told PTI ahead of the 10-member squad’s departure for Glasgow on Wednesday.
The quadrennial Games remain India’s favourite medal hunting ground as it continues to toil at the world and Asian level without much success. India produced their best ever CWG tally in 2010 winning a men’s doubles gold (Sharath Kamal and Subhajit Saha), surprise women’s team silver and three bronze.
Athletics team pruned down to 32, Dutee Chand dropped
Athletics Federation of India pruned down the number of track and field participants in the upcoming Commonwealth Games from the original 41 to 32, leaving out young sprinter Dutee Chand, who reportedly has been under a gender test scanner, at the last minute. Controversial triple jumper Renjith Maheswary and the six-member men’s 4x100m relay team also got the axe on the ground of unsatisfactory performance. 18-year-old Dutee has reportedly been under the scanner with the Sports Authority of India having ordered a gender test on her.
SAI Director General Jiji Thomson confirmed that a woman athlete underwent a gender test in Bangalore but refused to name her. “A gender test was conducted on a woman athlete in Bangalore. If she is there in the list of CWG participants, her name will have to be deleted from the list,” Thomson said. Dutee was dropped at the last minute as her name was there in the list of given earlier to AFI officials.