[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"header-nav":3,"footer-nav":29,"article-johnson-thompson-asher-smith-commonwealth-withdrawal":82,"category-counts-nav":97,"related-johnson-thompson-asher-smith-commonwealth-withdrawal":107},[4,8,11,14,17,20,23,26],{"label":5,"to":6,"exact":7},"Home","\u002F",true,{"label":9,"to":10},"World Cup","\u002Fworldcup",{"label":12,"to":13},"Standings","\u002Fstandings",{"label":15,"to":16},"Football","\u002Fcategory\u002Ffootball",{"label":18,"to":19},"Basketball","\u002Fcategory\u002Fbasketball",{"label":21,"to":22},"Tennis","\u002Fcategory\u002Ftennis",{"label":24,"to":25},"F1","\u002Fcategory\u002Ff1",{"label":27,"to":28},"Long Reads","\u002Fcategory\u002Flong-reads",{"brand":30,"columns":32,"tagline":80,"copyright":81},{"description":31},"In-depth sports journalism covering football, basketball, tennis, F1, and beyond. Daily analysis, long reads, and expert opinion.",[33,51,59],{"heading":34,"links":35},"Leagues",[36,39,42,45,48],{"label":37,"to":38},"Premier League","\u002Ftag\u002Fpremier-league",{"label":40,"to":41},"La Liga","\u002Ftag\u002Fla-liga",{"label":43,"to":44},"NBA","\u002Ftag\u002Fnba",{"label":46,"to":47},"Formula 1","\u002Ftag\u002Fformula-1",{"label":49,"to":50},"Champions League","\u002Ftag\u002Fchampions-league",{"heading":52,"links":53},"Content",[54,56,57],{"label":55,"to":16},"Analysis",{"label":27,"to":28},{"label":58,"to":16},"Data & Stats",{"heading":60,"links":61},"Company",[62,65,68,71,74,77],{"label":63,"to":64},"Terms of Service","\u002Fservice",{"label":66,"to":67},"Privacy Policy","\u002Fprivacy",{"label":69,"to":70},"Editorial Policy","\u002Feditorial",{"label":72,"to":73},"Contact Us","\u002Fcontact",{"label":75,"to":76},"About Us","\u002Fabout",{"label":78,"to":79},"Website Disclaimer","\u002Fdisclaimer","Built for the love of sport","© SportPulse. All rights reserved.",{"title":83,"slug":84,"category":85,"badge":86,"author":87,"excerpt":88,"date":89,"readTime":90,"image":91,"imageAlt":83,"tags":92,"body":95,"_path":96},"Johnson-Thompson and Asher-Smith out of Commonwealth Games through injury","johnson-thompson-asher-smith-commonwealth-withdrawal","long-reads","Long Reads: Feature","James Chen","Two of Britain's biggest athletics names withdraw from the Commonwealth Games, dealing a blow to their medal hopes.","2026-07-23 13:17:55","1 min read","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Fjohnson-thompson-asher-smith-commonwealth-withdrawal.webp",[93,94],"Athletics","Commonwealth Games","## Birmingham's athletics programme opens without its two headliners\n\nKatarina Johnson-Thompson and Dina Asher-Smith have withdrawn from the Commonwealth Games before competition begins, removing the two athletes most casual fans would recognise from the home team.\n\nJohnson-Thompson, the Olympic heptathlon silver medallist, won the 2019 world title in Doha with **6,981 points**. She ruptured her Achilles at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, recovered to claim Olympic silver, but another injury has ruled her out of Birmingham. Heptathlon demands peak form across seven disciplines over two days, and a competitor carrying any physical issue cannot hide in that format.\n\nAsher-Smith won the **200m world title in 2019** and holds the British 100m record at **10.83 seconds**. Commonwealth sprint fields are typically less deep than World Championship or Olympic lineups, which made Birmingham a realistic stage for her to extend her medal tally.\n\nThe British team carries depth in both the heptathlon and sprints, but the loss of two Olympic-level athletes competing on home soil is not easily absorbed.","\u002Farticles\u002Fjohnson-thompson-asher-smith-commonwealth-withdrawal",[98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,85,106],"analysis","basketball","cricket","f1","football","general","golf","mma","tennis",[108,122,131],{"id":109,"stem":109,"path":110,"title":111,"category":85,"badge":112,"badgeType":113,"author":114,"authorRole":115,"authorInitials":116,"date":117,"readTime":118,"image":119,"imageAlt":111,"tags":120,"excerpt":121},"athapaththu-century-t20-world-cup-sri-lanka-tactical-masterclass","\u002Farticles\u002Fathapaththu-century-t20-world-cup-sri-lanka-tactical-masterclass","Athapaththu Century Keeps Sri Lanka Alive","Feature","category","Elena Rossi","SportPulse Contributor","ER","2026-06-25 07:10:31","7 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002F608a\u002Flive\u002F57edcdd0-6f2d-11f1-8546-8f19e4fe30f4.jpg","T20 World Cup, Women's Cricket, Sri Lanka, Ireland","Chamari Athapaththu's unbeaten 106 dismantles Ireland as Sri Lanka's aggressive power-play approach keeps their semi-final hopes alive.",{"id":123,"stem":123,"path":124,"title":125,"category":85,"badge":15,"badgeType":113,"author":114,"authorRole":115,"authorInitials":116,"date":126,"readTime":127,"image":128,"imageAlt":125,"tags":129,"excerpt":130},"joe-cordina-assault-charge-career-implications","\u002Farticles\u002Fjoe-cordina-assault-charge-career-implications","Cordina Charged With Assault: From Ring Glory to Legal Peril","2026-06-25 13:32:40","6 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002Fef1a\u002Flive\u002F6233e710-7096-11f1-86cf-0fd142c2b6fb.jpg","Boxing, Super-Featherweight, Long Reads","Former super-featherweight world champion Joe Cordina faces assault and weapon threat charges, threatening to derail a career built on razor-thin margins.",{"id":132,"stem":132,"path":133,"title":134,"category":85,"badge":86,"badgeType":113,"author":114,"authorRole":115,"authorInitials":116,"date":135,"readTime":136,"image":137,"imageAlt":134,"tags":138,"excerpt":139},"macinnes-overcomes-nerves-commonwealth-games-swimming-silver","\u002Farticles\u002Fmacinnes-overcomes-nerves-commonwealth-games-swimming-silver","MacInnes masters her nerves to secure Commonwealth Games silver","2026-07-27 22:39:30","3 min read","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Fmacinnes-overcomes-nerves-commonwealth-games-swimming-silver.webp","Commonwealth Games, Swimming, Scotland","Scottish swimmer Keanna MacInnes feared anxiety would derail her medal hopes, but found a way to deliver under pressure at the Commonwealth Games."]