Commonwealth Games 2018: Dharun Ayyasamy, MR Poovamma and 10 other athletes depart for Gold Coast

New Delhi: Another batch of 12 Indian track and field athletes on Thursday left the country for Australia to get acclimatised to the conditions there ahead of next month’s Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast. [caption id=“attachment_4382689” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image of hurdles. AFP[/caption] With four athletes, including star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, having left for Australia on Wednesday, the total number of Indians from track and field to reach Australia well in advance of the CWG has risen to 16. The team that departed the country on Thursday included quarter-milers Dharun Ayyasamy, Muhammed Anas, Amoj Jacob, Kunhu Mohammed, Arokia Rajiv, Santosh Kumar, Hima Das, MR Poovamma, Sarita Gayakwad and Sonia Baishya, and discus thrower Navjeet Kaur Dhillon and heptathlete Purnima Hembram. The Indian team will attend a two-week acclimatisation camp at Gold Coast’s Sports Super Center before the Games. Besides Chopra, triple jumper Arpinder Singh and long jumpers Nayana James and Neena Varakil were the athletes who left for Australia on Wednesday. The Athletics Federation of India had named 31 track and field athletes to represent the country in the 4-15 April Games.