NAIROBI, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Olympic javelin silver medalist Julius Yego of Kenya is hopeful that the Commonwealth Games will provide him with the chance to redeem his career after an injury hampered his training and progression.
Yego has struggled to regain fitness since he pulled out of the Rio Olympics in 2016 with a second throw that sealed his silver medal.
But he has been in and out of rehabilitation in Kenya, South Africa and Finland and now believes the worst is behind him.
The Commonwealth Games will be held in Gold Coast, Australia from April 4-15 and the former world champion said he is ready to defend his 2014 title.
"I will be in the Commonwealth Games with renewed strength and optimism. I hope to retain the title that I won in Glasgow four years ago that set me on course to reclaim my position on the global mark," he said on Sunday.
He believes injuries are part and parcel of an athlete's career and says his failure to challenge for the medals last season has been an eye opener on how he trains and competes.
"I'm set on defending my title in the Commonwealth Games. There are no major competitions this season and it gives me a chance to improve gradually and not put too much strain on my body. I have been working more on techniques during my training and I'm confident of a good performance," said Yego.
"When I lost out in last year's competitions, it was bad for me. But it motivated me to work smarter this year. I also learnt on what to improve on as I target a rebound in the 2018 season," he added.
The Kenyan team in track and field competitions to the Commonwealth Games will be leaving on Sunday for Australia.
Kenya wants to improve on the 23 medals it scooped in Glasgow, Scotland of 10 gold 10 silver and three bronze. Paralympics and weightlifting added two bronze medals to the Kenyan collection.
In Gold Coast, Kenya will be represented in 13 discipline - boxing, athletics, rugby (men and women), badminton, wrestling, weightlifting, Paralympics, cycling, table tennis, squash, shooting, bowling and triathlon.
