Picture : Twitter/ ANI
When Team India left for the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham there was air of optimism about the showing . But the way the Indian team performed right through has gladdened the the nation.
And the medals tally of India 22 gold, 16 silver and 23 bronze with 61 medals in total was a creditable outing and finishing fourth . Third-placed Canada, was ahead with 92 medals (26-32-34).Australia (67-57-54) finished on top, ahead of hosts England (57-66-53).
The medal rush in Birmingham saw several heroes scripted their names in history. India had a fantastic badminton campaign with three gold, one silver and two bronze. India’s star doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy won the country’s third gold . After the twin Gold medal wins in women’s and men’s singles by PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen . Age was no bar for Sharath Kamal , who at 40 showed grit and determination by winning the men’s table tennis final and clinching the Gold .
It started with Weightlifter Gururaja Poojary who clinched a bronze medal in the men’s 61kg category. And since then there was no looking back for India on the medal front . As the Tiranga shone bright . Mirabai Chanu claimed India’s first gold at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in the 49 kg category . Bindyarani Devi bagged Silver in 55Kg category . young weightlifting sensation Jeremy Lalrinnunga from Mizoram bagged Gold In the 67 kg category . Weightlifter Achinta Sheuli (73kg) bagged Gold .
In a history of sorts , The Indian women lawn bowls team bagged a historic gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Tuesday, an unheralded quartet pulling the sport from obscurity to limelight with its inspiring show. The Indian team of Lovely Choubey (lead), Pinki (second), Nayanmoni Saikia (third) and Rupa Rani Tirkey (skip) overcame mid-match slump to beat South Africa 17-10 in the women’s fours final.
India’s top male squash player, Saurav Ghosal claimed India’s first ever singles medal in squash — a Bronze . Tejaswin Shankar, a last-minute addition to the athletics team, became the first Indian to win a men’s high jump medal in the Commonwealth Games, clinching a bronze in the final. The National record holder cleared 2.22 metres to finish third on countback. Murali Sreeshankar clinched a silver in the men’s long jump. Avinash Sable broke his own national record to win a silver in the men’s 3000m steeplechase. Priyanka Goswami scripted history as she became the first Indian woman to win a medal in race walk with a silver in 10,000m event.
Eldhose Paul led India’s historic 1-2 finish in men’s triple jump at the Commonwealth Games as he won a rare gold medal in track and field events and was followed by fellow Kerala athlete Abdulla Aboobacker . In boxing the gritty and tenacious Nikhat Zareen added a Commonwealth Games light flyweight (50kg) Gold medal.
India’s women’s hockey team overcame the stopwatch controversy in the semi-finals to beat New Zealand 2-1 in shoot-out and win the bronze medal. The men;s team however had to settle for Silver as they were hammered 7-0 by Australia in the final . The Indian women’s cricket suffered a nine-run defeat against Australia to claim the silver medal in the cricket final.
For the record though, it should be noted that India’s best ever showing at the CWG though was at home in 2010 when it won a total of 101 medals (38 gold medals, 27 silver medals, and 36 bronze medals). That year, India was second in the medal tally behind Australia and ahead of England by one gold.
Next India had won a total of 64 medals in the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Indian athlete Vikas Gowda (Men’s Discus) scripted history by winning India’s first gold medal in 56 years. In CWG 2014, India won 64 medals overall (15 gold medals, 28 silver medals, and 18 bronze medals). But At Birmingham India got more Gold Medals.
And n the 2018 CWG in Australia ( Gold Coast ) , India won a total of 66 medals in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. India finished third in the CWG 2018 medal tally. India won 26 gold medals, 20 silver medals, and 20 bronze medals in this edition of the Commonwealth Games. India emerged as the top performer in shooting, wrestling, weightlifting, badminton, and 2nd best in boxing.
Lastly Birmingham showing augurs well for Indian sport as it goes head and gives the confidence to shine at next Paris Olympics 2024. And nothing could be more inspiring for the players to perform at their best when they know they have their nation behind them. Prime Minister Narendra Modi lead the way . Given his hectic schedule Prime Minister Narendra Modi not only interacted with the Birmingham bound Indian contingent players before they left, but also did not forget to to tweet each medal winners of India and had a word of encouragement for those who did not shine.. As the country celebrates the 75th year of Independence , the Birmingham CWG2022 performance is icing on the cake surely.
