PM Narendra Modi interacts with Commonwealth Games 2022 contingent, wishes them luck, WATCH

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (July 20) highlighted the struggle, grit and determination of the Commonwealth Games 2022-bound athletes in a light-hearted interaction as he urged them to forget expectations and focus only on giving their best at the Birmingham multi-sport event. Among others, the PM spoke to 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable, weightlifter Achinta Sheuli, women’s hockey player Salima Tete, cyclist David Beckham and para shot putter Sharmila during a virtual interactive session.

Well aware of their back stories, Modi asked how the athletes overcame the hurdles in their lives. “I joined Indian Army in 2012 and did normal duty for four years. After that I took up athletics. The hard army training and the tough Siachen Glacier posting helped me a lot during competitions,” Sable said.

“In my event there are a lot of obstacles, we have to jumps through hurdles similar to how army training like crawling.”

Watch PM Narendra Modi's with CWG 2022 contingent here...

Wishing our dynamic contingent the very best for @birminghamcg22. https://t.co/YkIAkPFrEN

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 20, 2022

The interaction was also attended by the likes of Olympic double medallist PV Sindhu, women’s hockey goalkeeper Savita Punia, Rio Games bronze medallist wrestler Sakshi Malik, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, boxers Shiva Thapa and Sumit, shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth and Lakshya Sen.

The CWG is scheduled to be held in Birmingham from July 28 to August 8 with a total of 215 Indian athletes participating in 141 events across 19 sporting disciplines.

CWG-bound sprinter Dhanalakshmi and triple jumper Aishwarya Babu fail dope test

Top sprinter S Dhanalakshmi has been ruled out of the upcoming Commonwealth Games after failing a dope test while national record holder triple jumper Aishwarya Babu has also tested positive for a banned substance, sources said on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old Dhanalakshmi, who was named in the 36-member Indian athletics team for the Birmingham CWG, returned positive for a banned steroid in a dope test conducted abroad by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) of the World Athletics. “Dhanalakshmi tested positive in a dope test conducted by AIU. She will not go for Birmingham CWG,” a top source privy to the development told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Dhanalakshmi was named in the CWG team for 100m and the 4x100m relay team along with the likes of Dutee Chand, Hima Das and Srabani Nanda. She was also named in the Indian team for the ongoing World Championships in Eugene, USA, but failed to make it to the showpiece, ostensibly due to visa problems.

Dhanalakshmi had recorded a personal best time of 22.89 seconds to win 200m gold at the Qosanov Memorial Athletics Meet on June 26. She had become only the third Indian woman to run sub-23s after national record holder Saraswati Saha (22.82s) and Hima Das (22.88s).