Kunjarani in team for
Commonwealth Games

Weightlifter N Kunjarani Devi will return to competition for the first time after being punished by the game's world governing body for failing a dope test when she participates in the Commonwealth Games in Manchester later this month.

Kunjarani, who was handed a six-month ban after testing positive for a banned drug late last year, is among a 13-strong contingent named by the Weightlifting Federation of India on Tuesday for the July 25-August 4 Games.

The list is yet to be approved by the government, but it is likely to be cleared considering that weightlifting is one of the major medal hopes for the country at the Games.

In the last edition of the Games, in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, 13 of India's 25 medals were won by the weighlifters, and this time the federation is confident of winning a minimum of 25 medals.

Among the prospective medal hopes is the young P Sailaja, who has been doing extremely well in the 75-kg weight category.

Sailaja, who is yet to turn 19, won three gold medals in the Junior Asian championships, in Thailand, in May and has already lifted a total of 235 kg, which is next only to Karnam Malleswari's Sydney Olympic Games' bronze medal-winning performance of 240 kg.

Among the men, Olympian T Muthu is a strong gold-medal hope in the 56 kg category.

The Indians are relieved by the decision of the organising committee to stick to awarding three gold medals in each weight category - one each for snatch, clean and jerk and total - as is the practice in the World and Asian championships.

There was a proposal to give only one gold medal per event, based on the total weight lifted by a contestant, as in Olympic and Asian Games but it was turned down.

The team
Men: T Muthu and Vicky Batta (both 56 kg), K Madasamy (62 kg), Sudhir Kumar and G Vadivelu (both 69 kg), Satisha Rai (77 kg).

Women: N Kunjarani Devi (48 kg), Sanamacha Chanu (53 kg), Sunaina and Prasmita Mangraj (both 58 kg), Pratima Kumari (68 kg), N Laxmi (69 kg) and P Sailaja (75 kg).