Ananya Lohia , New Delhi - India's star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will headline the athletics action at the Commonwealth Games as he takes on Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan and Sri Lanka's Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage in a high-profile men's javelin event beginning Monday.

India is aiming to surpass its eight-medal athletics haul from the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, with medal hopes resting on Chopra, long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, high jumper Sarvesh Kushare, decathlete Tejaswin Shankar and several others. The men's javelin competition is expected to be one of the toughest events, featuring many of the world's top throwers.

Chopra, who returned to competition after recovering from a back injury, will look to reclaim the Commonwealth Games gold he won in 2018. However, he faces stiff competition from Pathirage, the only 90-metre thrower this season, while fellow Indians Rohit Yadav and Yashvir Singh are also in medal contention.

With several strong medal prospects across field and track events, India will be hoping for an impressive start in Glasgow and a better overall athletics performance than the previous Commonwealth Games.