Apart from Neeraj, the Indian athletics contingent has a packed schedule. Tejaswin Shankar begins his demanding decathlon campaign with five events spread throughout the day, while Tajinderpal Singh Toor and Samardeep Singh Gill will compete in the men’s shot put final.
Seema Kaliramna and Nidhi Rani will compete in the women’s discus throw final, and Parul Chaudhary will aim for a podium finish in the women’s 5000m.
Vishal TK, Animesh Kujur and the Indian men’s track cycling team also have important matches scheduled, while Martina Devi Maibam and Lovepreet Singh will look to add medals in weightlifting.
India enter Day 8 with momentum after an impressive performance on Wednesday. Murali Sreeshankar bagged his second consecutive Commonwealth Games silver medal in the men’s long jump, while para sprinter Dilip Mahadu Gavit claimed gold in the men’s T47 100m after setting a Games record. Mohammed Basil Morssinganakth added another silver, and Indian boxing enjoyed a memorable day with several semifinal qualifiers, guaranteeing at least 10 medals for the country.
The strong performance took India’s medal tally to 15 medals, three gold, nine silver and three bronze, placing the country eighth in the standings.
Australia’s dominance continued with 103 medals, including 47 gold, while Canada and England occupied the next two positions. With Neeraj Chopra finally entering the competition and several medals lined up, Thursday presented another great opportunity for India to climb the medal table.