Sable’s dramatic silver, the most precious medal at CWG

With four medals, including gold, jumpers bring the best haul

Stan Rayan

KOCHI

Call it the Neeraj Chopra effect or whatever but there seems to be one happy high after another in Indian athletics.

Javelin thrower Neeraj’s Olympic gold has changed the sport, broken mental barriers and continues to inspire young athletes to think big. And after the country’s best-ever performance at the recent Worlds, where Neeraj won the first-ever silver and six Indians qualified for the final, expectations were high as the athletes flew to Birmingham for the Commonwealth Games.

They lived up to expectations, or perhaps even exceeded them, finishing with a best-ever medal haul — eight: one gold, four silver, three bronze — outside the country (the home Commonwealth Games, New Delhi 2010, had a bigger haul).

India’s previous best outside home was just three but this time, despite Neeraj pulling out with an injury, the medal bag was bigger.

‘Immaculate planning’