One measure of understanding whether a country is doing well in a multi-sport event is to examine whether athletes have improved on their personal bests and whether they have won against better-ranked opponents. The same thing comes out in India’s performance in the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Unlike in the past when a sport contributed a great deal of medals, the good thing about it
It is that medals have arrived at the Games and more athletes have entered the medal round.
Even in swimming, where India did not win any medals, Srihari Nataraja finished fifth, which was one of India’s better attempts at the event. In table tennis, it was commendable that India did not lose a single game in the men’s team event.
Table tennis head coach Subramaniam Raman heaped praise on the mixed doubles pair of R Sathiyan and Manika Batra, calling them medal prospects for Paris 2024. “They are now in sixth place and we aim to get them in the top 4 ahead of Paris. He has a real chance,” Raman said.
This is what it’s about, punching above your weight and doing things that have never been done before. Two medals in judo with a historic silver and a bronze in men’s singles in squash are further evidence. Weightlifting has ended the field winning 10 medals out of a possible 16.
The results have been good in badminton as well. While the loss to Malaysia in the team event still hurt, it was good to see Lakshya Sen step up against defending world champion Loh Keen Yew of Singapore. Lakshya had a poor start but once he came back and took hold of the competition, he did not allow his more arch rival to make a comeback. His joy at the end of the match and the way his teammates celebrated his victory made it clear what this meant for the team.
For renowned athletes like Amit Panghal, Nikhat Zareen and others in boxing, the Commonwealth Games was an important step forward for tough challenges in the future. Now every competition is a chance for Nikhat to win a gold medal. “I have waited a long time to wear the colors of India. Now that I have a chance, I want to win every match and every medal I compete for.”
In her first Commonwealth Games, Jasmine has been a surprise package. Growing up with male partners in the absence of good female partners in her village and academy, Jasmine is a star to look into the future.
For Panghal too, this Commonwealth Games is a big opportunity. He went to Tokyo as a medal contender and had an unofficial exit. He looks well prepared so far and knows he can’t afford another false move. “It is a very important event for me and I will do my best for the country,” he said after reaching the semi-finals and securing a medal.
Lovely Choubey, Nayanmoni Saikia, Pinky and Roopa Tirkey are now household names to win the historic gold and are expected to give a big boost to the sport in India. One sport where the medals did not come as a surprise was wrestling.
Fortunately for India, the wrestlers who were expected to win have won. Be it Bajrang Punia or Deepak Punia, Indian wrestling is clearly set to do better in Paris.
Lastly, one needs to mention athletics where it is difficult to get medals in Commonwealth Games. In the absence of Neeraj Chopra, people were initially apprehensive about athletics.
But with Tejaswin Shankar’s bronze and Murali Sreeshankar’s silver with a jump of 8.08m in the final, the Indian game’s upward trajectory seems to be going smoothly. To paraphrase the 2022 Commonwealth Games motto: “This is just the beginning.”
Originally published at
Pen 18
