The 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth games penned a golden chapter in India’s sporting history as calling the entire campaign to be a monumental success too sounds like an understatement. Despite major sports like shooting, archery being dropped in the 2022 CWG games, the overall medal tally did not see any major dip and India finished fourth in the standings with 61 medals. In terms of medals, India’s best ever performance came at home in 2010(101 medals) but back then several other sports disciplines like Tennis and shooting were a part of the roster.
India is right on track
The success of 2022 is truly a landmark in the history of sports in modern India. In athletics, India pulled off a stellar performance with 8 medals in total. Be it Eldhose Paul‘s gold medal in triple jump or the long jumpers Murali Sreeshankar and Tejaswin Shankar hogging all the limelight, this performance does indicate that India is en route to being a heavyweight in the track and field soon. While star javelin thrower and Tokyo Olympics Gold medallist Neeraj Chopra was missed, in all, the Indian contingent will be strong contenders in the upcoming Asian Games as well as the Paris Olympics.
Sindhu shines again, Sen-sational Sen at his best
Of late, badminton has become a widely celebrated sport across India and therefore, there was definitely a lot of pressure on the likes of PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikkanth to deliver their best. The players stood up to the expectations as India bagged a medal in all the badminton events except mixed doubles. Champion shuttler PV Sindhu, young sensation Lakshya Sen and the incredible duo of Saitwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty kissed glory with gold.
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Another feather in the cap for World Champion Zareen
In boxing, the women’s squad simply outclassed their opponents as 3 of the 4 female boxers(Jasmine Lamboria, Nitu Ghanghas, and Nikhat Zareen) in the contingent returned home with medals. However, Olympic medalist Lovlina Borgohain‘s form is a critical concern for India as her performance failed to reflect her true calibre.
The surprises from Birmingham
Not sure if most of us knew about Lawn Bowls but the 2022 CWG will definitely be the much-needed twist in the tale. A gold for the women and a silver for the men- the fact that such astonishing wins will serve as a boost to so many other disciplines of sports which till now have not caught the attention of the general public at large. In squash, Dipika Pallikal made a stunning comeback to her career after pregnancy by clinching the bronze medal alongside Saurav Ghosal, who also claimed India’s first-ever singles medal in CWG.
Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and co. outclass all
The wrestlers and weight-lifters asserted dominance across all the events with a stellar total of 22 medals to their account. Mirabai Chanu‘s victorious smile at the podium ensured that India’s golden run in the arena of sports will only continue henceforth. The Tokyo Olympics saw the resurgence of hockey as finally the rich legacy of our heroics finally had spread its wings after a long standstill. The women brought gold while the men bagged the silver in the CWG to prove that the progress is finally producing results which surely rekindles the dream of the national team to yet again be the undisputed kings of the sport in the upcoming days.
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Mission 2024: A promising future
The march towards global glory has without a doubt picked up exciting speed in the last few championships. And now, all eyes will be on India finally be a much tougher competitor in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Wrestling, weightlifting, hockey and badminton will definitely be India’s prime fields to conquer considering their consistent performances at large across various events. Plus India can finally be optimistic about its chances to grow as a formidable force in athletics as in order to challenge the big sporting giants of the world, the focus needs to be concentrated on a wide array of sports. As of now, it’s truly ecstatic to see India on the rise and the dream to be a global leader in the field of sports is seemingly turning true in the fullness of time.
