India returned another mega haul of medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, winning 22 golds and 61 medals in total to finish in fourth place. Although India fell four golds and five medals short of their tally from the previous games at the Gold Coast in 2018, India’s performance at the 2022 Commonwealth Games was arguably their best showing in the competition’s history.
With no shooting and archery in Birmingham, team India were deprived of events that gave them 49 medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi and 16 at the Gold Coast. In 2022, on the other hand, team India excelled in other events such as Athletics, Hockey, Table Tennis, Badminton, and Weightlifting, with plenty of stunning performances from the various athletes in Birmingham.
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Arguably the greatest performance by an Indian athlete at the 2022 Commonwealth Games came from Avinash Sable in the 3000m steeplechase. In a discipline dominated by Kenyans, Sable created a massive upset by running a personal best time of 8:11:20 to win the silver medal. Sable missed out on the gold by just 0.05 seconds as Kenyan runner Abraham Kibiwot held on for first with a time of 8:11:15. Sable was the first Indian athlete to win a medal in the 3000m steeplechase at the Commonwealth Games and was the first non-Kenyan athlete to medal at the event since 1994.
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Team India dominated the Badminton landscape at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, with PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen winning the gold medal in the Men’s and Women’s singles events. Sindhu won gold at the Commonwealth games for the first time after claiming bronze and silver in 2014 and 2018, respectively, while 20-year-old Sen staged a dramatic comeback against Ng Tze Young from Malaysia in the final to win his first gold medal at the Games. Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy also won the gold medal in the men’s doubles event, while the Indian team won the silver in the mixed team event.
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It was a Commonwealth Games to remember for the table tennis star Sharath Kamal, who won a stunning four medals in Birmingham. The 40-year-old, who won his first singles gold in the 2006 games, won gold medals in the Men’s singles, Men’s team event and mixed doubles with partner Sreeja Akula. Kamal also won the silver medal in the Men’s Doubles, taking his tally to 13 medals from five appearances at the Commonwealth Games.
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India’s performance at the track and field events was the biggest plus point from the 2022 Commonwealth Games, and Eldhose Paul created history in Birmingham, becoming the first Indian to win a gold medal in the men’s triple jump. The Kerala native who works with the Indian navy won the gold with a personal best jump of 17.03m in his third attempt. To make the feat even more memorable, India also took home the silver in the event, with Abdulla Aboobacker completing a best jump of 17.02m to make it two Indians in the top two of a track and field event at a world meet.
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Tejaswin Shankar secured India’s first-ever medal in the high jump event at the Commonwealth Games as the 23-year-old secured the bronze medal with a jump of 2.22 metres. Shankar’s achievement is made all the more special for the fact that his involvement in the games wasn’t certain even a week before the games commenced. The Delhi native even watched the opening ceremony of the games on his television at home before being brought in as a replacement to take part in the High Jump event after taking the Athletics Federation of India to court due to his non-selection.
[Featured Image Credit: ANI]
Shivaan Shah