NAIROBI, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Olympic javelin silver medalist Julius Yego of Kenya will have to be in his best form if he is to retain his Commonwealth Games title.
Yego, who has labored to regain his fitness after suffering from groin and ankle injuries in 2017 faces upcoming Indian rival and World Junior champion Neeraj Chopra.
It will be Yego's first appearance in competitive form since he lost his gold medal in London last August.
But the Kenyan believes he has the experience and strength to take on his rivals.
"It is a new start for me after the problems of 2017. The injuries are gone and now the season proper starts at the Commonwealth Games," said Yego.
The Commonwealth Games start on Sunday. The javelin stars line up for their preliminary round on Thursday.
Chopra, 20, currently holds the best throw among javelin throwers from the Commonwealth participants this year and is India's best bet in the field events. Chopra threw the javelin 86.48m in Bydgoszcz, Poland on his way to win gold last year.
But Yego, who had his best throw of92.72 meters at the Beijing 2015 World Championships, has not been equaled in the last decade.
If he is fit, Yego targets to improve on his best throw and retain his gold medal, which he last won in 2014 in Glasgow, Scotland.
The Commonwealth Games is one of the biggest meets of 2018 and it features several rising stars as well of a bunch of established names, including Yohan Blake of Jamaica, Isaac Makwala (South Africa), Nijel Amos (Botswana), Elijah Manangoi, Timothy Cheruiyot (Kenya), Joshua Cheptegei (Uganda) among others.