Welsh athletes get their Commonwealth Games under way tomorrow on day one of competition following today's opening ceremony,

Barry swimming star David Davies is perhaps Wales' best chance of a gold medal here with the Olympic bronze medallist favourite in the 1500m freestyle after the withdrawal of Aussie legend and Olympic gold medallist Grant Hackett.

Davies doesn't get his 1500m campaign under way until next week, but he will be competing in the men's 400m freestyle heats tomorrow at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic centre.

Preparations have been going well and despite the fact that Hackett is his fiercest rival, Davies is disappointed by his absence.

He said: "I get on really well with Grant and he's absolutely gutted he can't race. It's a real blow to lose any swimmer, but to lose someone as high-calibre as him through injury is a massive loss.

"Training has been going really well. We've been on the Gold Coast (Australia) since the end of January and my preparations have been going really well. I'm just so looking forward to getting in the water now and doing what I've been working towards for such a long time."

Davies is the subject of intense media coverage here but as the Welshman explains, he is trying to take it all in his stride.

He said: "I try not to get too caught up in what is or what isn't being said about me.

"It's important not to take anything for granted - especially at this late stage. I have my own expectations of what I want to do at these Games, but on the day, you never know what you're going to do, or what other people might pull out of the bag."

Wales' rugby sevens squad are also in action tomorrow as the pool stages start at the Telstra Dome.

Coach David Rees is aiming for, at the very least, a last-eight place, but with New Zealand, Namibia and Kenya in their pool, qualifying for the knock-out stages will not be a formality.

He said: "We've targeted a quarter-final place but I'm hopeful we can go further. Preparation has been fantastic and we can't wait to get cracking."

There is also action on the squash courts in Melbourne's Sports and Aquatic centre on day one with Gwent pair David Evans and Alex Gough competing in the men's singles.

Both have been handed tough draws and their most likely success will come when they team up for the doubles.

Action also begins at the State Lawn Bowls centre and the Rod Laver Arena, which is hosting the gymnastics.