International show-stoppers

Top stars like Adam Peaty and Yohan Blake will be seen in action over the two weeks. Here’s a list of top 10:

VALERIE ADAMS (shot put, NZ)

This will be her fifth CWG -- her haul so far is three gold and one silver. Still only 33, her remarkable reign includes winning 107 major competitions in a row from 2006 to 2014 and two Olympic titles. But she had to settle for silver at Rio Olympics.

YOHAN BLAKE (Athletics, JAM)

With Usain Bolt retired, Blake has a prime opportunity to step out of the sprint legend’s shadow. The 28-year-old is the second fastest man but has never won a Commonwealth Games medal after skipping Glasgow 2014.

CASTER SEMENYA (athletics, RSA)

The 27-year-old is a two-time Olympic gold medallist and three-time world champion over 800m. She is favourite to pull off an 800m and 1,500m double and has even been tipped for a new world record over 800m if she hits top form.

ELAINE THOMPSON (Athletics, JAM)

Thompson is 100m and 200m Olympic champion and hoping to grab the headlines. However, the 25-year-old does not enjoy the dominance that Bolt had and at the world championships in London in 2017 she finished a disappointing fifth.

SALLY PEARSON (Athletics, Aus)

The London 2012 100m hurdles champion has won the event at the last two Games in Delhi and Glasgow but enters the competition with a nagging Achilles problem. The 31-year-old burst back winning the last year’s world’s championship.

LEE CHONG WEI (Badminton, MAS)

Lee is reaching the end of his career. His triumphs include CWG gold in 2006 and 2010 -- he missed 2014 injured. He would have been a multiple Olympic champion too, but lost the final to Lin Dan in 2008 and 2012, and fell to Chen Long, in 2016.

TOM DALEY (Diving, ENG)

The 23-year-old with the boy-band looks leads England’s hopes in diving and is also one of the biggest stars here. He is a double world champion in 10m platform. He also won gold at the 2010 and 2014 CWG. He is double Olympic bronze-medallist.

ADAM PEATY (swimming, ENG)

He is 100m breaststroke Olympic champion and world record-holder in 50m and 100m. He will also be defending his CWG title in 100m. He is in excellent form, winning 100m at last month’s British championships with a season-best 58.78sec.

MACK HORTON (swimming, AUS)

The bespectacled Horton is the reigning Olympic 400m freestyle champ and is also slated to go in the 200m and 1,500m here. The 21-year-old faces competition in 200m from teammate Kyle Chalmers, the Olympic winner in the 100m freestyle.

NICOL DAVID (Squash, Malaysia)

The eight-time world champion is entering a competition where she is not a favourite. She is ranked third in women’s singles behind England’s Laura Massaro and Kiwi Joelle King, but has been in Australia for about two weeks finalising her preparations.