Finally, the Commonwealth Games are at such a stage when you can use those three magical words: get, set, go! After all the chaos, negative publicity and the rash of pullouts, it will be time for the athletes to take centre stage once the competitions get under way on Monday.
If this edition of the Games has been actually left any poorer in the ultimate analysis, it's because of the non-participation of names like Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell or a Shelly Ann-Fraser. The good news from the Indian fans' point of view, however, is that none of their top draws have decided to ditch the competition at the last minute.
Talk of star value, and the average sports buff from the host country will have plenty to choose from to go venue-hopping. Take tennis to start with: it will be one of the last few opportunities to watch the timeless "Indian Express" of Leander Paes-Mahesh Bhupathi in action, and both seem to be earnest enough for yet another doubles gold. Despite having broken up on the ATP Tour for years, the veterans decided to come together for a warm-up event at the Thailand Open this week though they crashed out in the first round.
There will be plenty of curiosity value once Sania Mirza takes to the court at the R.K.Khanna Stadium — it would be her first appearance in competitive tennis in India ever since her much-publicised marriage to Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malek.
Elsewhere, it will be yet another chance for Saina Nehwal — the brand ambassador for the Games — to show that she can cope with the pressure of expectations from the home crowd. Currently world No 3 in women's badminton rankings, Nehwal has set such high standards for herself in the last two years and even a quarter-final show in the last world championship was considered to be below-par.
This, of course, brings us to the trio of Olympic medallists who had given India plenty to cheer about in the Beijing Games two years ago. While shooting is a discipline where the country had reaped rich harvests at the recent Commonwealth events, there has been never quite someone else like Abhinav Bindra, who had given India its one and only individual gold in Olympics. In his quiet, unfussy manner, Bindra comes well-prepared for the event and one can expect an encore from him.
Vijender Singh, the silver medallist in boxing, has endeared the sport little more in the Indian households and would certainly be looking forward to do one better with the gold in New Delhi.
The other person riding high is, of course, Sushil Kumar, the bronze medal winner in Beijing, who then went on to become the world champion in Moscow in his weight category last month. It's not everyday that an Indian wrestler emerges as the man to beat and that's good news for the country in the multi-discipline events.
By the time the curtains fall on the Games, there could be a few more new stars on the horizon like them — egging on India to think beyond cricket!
