As India’s 215-member strong Commonwealth Games 2022 contingent prepares to put up a strong performance in Birmingham over the course of the next two weeks, we take a look at India’s brightest medal prospects and how India will try and overcome the absence of Shooting, one of India’s most productive – in terms of medals – disciplines at the Games and try and complete with Commonwealth powerhouses Australia, England and Canada.
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Neeraj Chopra has pulled out of the Games owing to a groin injury, which now requires him to rest for at least 20 days, and that puts the focus largely on PV Sindhu, who will be India’s flag-bearer in Birmingham, alongside the rising sensation Lakshya Sen. Not to forget is the formidable wrestling contingent, another heavy medal winning discipline for India over the years at CWG.
Goldfinger on the mark at Melbourne
Shooting sport’s exclusion from the CWG 2022 affects India’s medal prospects. For example at the 2006 CWG in Melbourne, pistol shooter Samaresh Jung emerged as the Best Athlete after an incredible haul of seven medals, including five golds, one silver and one bronze. He was given the David Dixon award for his staggering individual achievement in a single competition.
Samaresh climbed the podium to receive gold medals in the men’s 50m pistol, 10m air pistol, 10m air pistol pairs (with Vivek Singh), and 25m centre fire pistol pairs (with Jaspal Rana), 25m standard pistol (with Ronak Pandit). The Indian tricolour went up five times, lifting the morale of the contingent. Samaresh was nicknamed Goldfinger, a take-off on the James Bond movie, for his success at the trigger.
To add to this golden haul, he picked up a silver in 50m pistol pairs (Vivek Singh) and a bronze in 25m (centerfire pistol) and ended up climbing the podium seven times in Melbourne. The pistol ace later competed in 10m air pistol, and 50m air pistol at the 2008 Olympic Games Beijing, where fellow shooter Abhinav Bindra was the toast of Indian sport (10m air rifle gold), beating China’s Zu Qinan to the second spot. Jung is the national pistol coach now.
Bindra, the nation’s first individual Olympic champion, was joined in the champions club by athlete Neeraj Chopra after the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. The men’s javelin throw gold medallist is among newsmakers opting out from CWG 2022 due to injury. Shooters also will be missing, the explanation being some logistical issue the reason behind the exclusion of shooting from the event programme by the Birmingham organisers.
CWG 2022: A Look Back at India’s History at the Commonwealth Games
The sport featured in every Commonwealth Games from 1966 CWG Kingston (Jamaica) onwards till the 2018 CWG Gold Coast (Australia), where Indian men, women and mixed events participants managed seven golds, four silvers and five bronze medals, 16 medals in all. Samaresh took part in four consecutive CWG editions, starting from 1988 in Kuala Lumpur to 2010 in New Delhi, finishing with a silver (25m standard pistol pairs) and a bronze (25m standard pistol) on the fourth appearance.
The Olympic Games medal-winners for India from Tokyo 2020, fine-tuned for action at the CWG include many high-profile names, across disciplines from athletics to weightlifting. The multi-event competition at Birmingham offers the first opportunity for many to shine, record personal bests and gain government incentives announced for medal winners. The Sports Ministry will offer Rs 20 lakhs (first place), Rs 10 lakhs (second) and Rs 7.5 lakhs (third position).
In the context of Neeraj’s absence due to recovery from a groin strain suffered at Eugene 2022, javelin throwers Rohit Yadav and D P Manu will get the opportunity to display their power and prove their worth for the Asian Games 2022 to follow. Their women counterparts are Shilpa Rani and World Championship finalist Annu Rani, an experienced hand at the highest level, and a two-time finalist at worlds. Neeraj, the Eugene 2022 silver medallist, was India’s only gold medal winner in athletics from the 2018 CWG Gold Coast.
Archery off target
Archery’s exclusion from the 2022 CWG is a blow for many nations hoping to climb up the medals tally, including India (fourth at Gold Coast four years ago). The sport has been a permanent part of the Summer Olympics since 1972 Munich. World Archery conducts the World Cup, and World Championship and is part of the Paralympic Games, but the bow/arrow sport did not find favour in CWG. Twice before, 1982 Brisbane and 2010 New Delhi, the archers were part of the Games.
Tokyo talents
The Indian contingent features a handful of podium finishers from last year’s Olympic Games 2021, among whom are famous names weightlifter Mirabai Chanu and wrestler Ravi Kumar (silver medal), along with boxer Lovlina Borgohain, badminton ace Sindhu, wrestler Bajrang Punia and the Manpreet Singh-led men’s hockey squad (bronze medal). Each one is aware of national expectations, though current form and fitness are deciding factors in competition.
The CWG 2022 is the first international competition for these podium-finishers since the Tokyo Olympics. Others to hit winning form and raring to have a go at the competition in Birmingham include the 2022 Thomas Cup squad team-mates Kidambi Srikanth, Lakshya, Chirag Shetty, Satwiksairaj Reddy, whose collective effort resulted in stunning performances against higher ranked pros from badminton powers, climaxing in the title win over Indonesia.
Shuttlers on the women’s squad have big-match experience and talent, among whom Ashwini Ponnappa (playing mixed doubles and mixed team event at Birmingham) has tasted the winning feeling at the 2010 CWG in Delhi with Jwala Gutta as a partner in women’s doubles. This attacking duo had won women’s doubles medals for India earlier at the Uber Cup, and Asian Championships. Ashwini’s experience at the world level puts her in place to play the guiding role.
Linking nations
Seventy-two nations are participating in the CWG 2022, stretching across continents. From A (Australia) to Z (Zambia), the multi-sport competition staged every four years, among former British colonies, will see many fascinating nations in the fray…. Anguilla, Belize, Eswatini, Guernsey, Jersey, Kiribati, Montserrat, Niue, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu to name a few interesting ones. The march past during the opening ceremony will reveal more about these new faces, among whom some may climb the victory podium. Sport is beyond geographical barriers, linking people together in a spirit of competition.
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