Editorial: India on CWG high

The 215-member strong contingent put on a stupendous show in the just concluded Commonwealth Games to return with a medal tally of 61 – including 22 gold, 16 silver and 23 bronze medals. The performance helped India finish fourth in the points table – which appeared to be a distant dream before the start of […]

The 215-member strong contingent put on a stupendous show in the just concluded Commonwealth Games to return with a medal tally of 61 – including 22 gold, 16 silver and 23 bronze medals. The performance helped India finish fourth in the points table – which appeared to be a distant dream before the start of the event. With shooting contributing the bulk of the medals to India’s success in earlier editions, expectations from the Birmingham Games were not so high as shooting was dropped from the Games this time. However, Birmingham turned out to be a happy hunting ground for India. The rich medal haul represents the new India, which is more confident. Though India needs some more time to become a sporting powerhouse, all indications are that the country is on the right track. Wrestlers took the onus on themselves in the absence of shooting, providing the bulk of the medals. What was encouraging was the Indian grapplers won medals in all the events they competed in, stamping their authority. Weightlifting, with 10 medals, set the tone on the second day of the competitions while shuttlers provided a perfect finish with three golds on the final day. The performance from the athletics contingent was gratifying with the team returning with 8 medals. The 1-2 finish of India’s triple jumpers Eldhose Paul and Abdulla Aboobacker will surely be etched in the history of Indian athletics in golden letters.

There were also several firsts for India at the Birmingham Games. While the Tokyo Olympics provided a new lease of life to Indian athletics with Neeraj Chopra winning the elusive individual gold in Javelin and Aditi Ashok providing a much-needed lifeline to golf, the CWG edition saw the emergence of a new game – Lawn Bowl. The women’s fours lawn bowl team won the historic gold medal in this discipline. There were some splendid individual performances that need special mention. Veteran wrestler Vinesh Phogat completed a hat-trick of titles while paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal proved age is just a number with his record four medals – including three gold medals. On the whole, Sharath pocketed 13 medals at CWG spanning over five editions. Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, who earlier bagged a bronze and a silver, pocketed the elusive gold to complete a set of medals. For the first time in history, both Indian hockey teams won a medal in the same edition. Overall, India won medals across 12 disciplines. Though there were disappointments along the way, India’s overall performance was commendable. The 61-medal count may be much below their best – India won 101 medals at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games – but in the absence of shooting, the athletes definitely exceeded the expectations. For the Indian sports lover, this 75th Independence Day will surely be a special one, thanks to the athletes.

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