India’s Run At The Commonwealth Games This Year Deserves Our Attention

66. That’s how many medals the young Indian men and women brought home from the 2018 Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast, Australia. Culminating in India’s 3rd best performance in the Games, it has been a phenomenal sports season for the country. The nation’s changing sports narrative from a cricket-centric hype culture to a more inclusive hotbet of all things athletic has been inevitable with brilliant Indian sportspersons taking the world by storm in multiple categories across the board. Bagging major wins in badminton, wrestling, shooting, weightlifting, table tennis and boxing, India finished 3rd in this year’s Commonwealth Games, with Australia and England securing the 1st and 2nd places respectively.

This tangible shift towards recognising the need to celebrate other sports in the country can be attributed to a number of factors. Younger people dominate the current demographic of India, which explains the surge in sports engagement - seen in both the rising level of participants and viewership alike. This in turn has multiple effects in the society at large. More involvement translates to better sports infrastructure, which further promotes more participation, which prompts a spike in viewers. It’s like a self-improving circle, getting better with every level.

The power of sports is not lost on anyone. The way it can unite, or divide, thousands of people is unparalleled (barring organized religion). Its capability to evoke powerful emotions in large groups of people, and the adrenaline rush that accompanies the highs and lows of critical games, is testimony to the indispensable status sporting events enjoy all over the world. Most countries are known for their proficiency in specific sports, and India isn’t any different in that regard. But unlike other nations, India has the unfortunate reputation of focusing on that one particular sport with the single mindedness zeal of a teenage boy’s first post-puberty pursuit of a girlfriend. Of course, it makes sense to celebrate what you’re good at, and it’s safe to say India’s passion for cricket isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and just as well. But the inclusion of other sports in this space is paving the way for Indians to excel in areas that earlier weren’t exactly our forte.

Out of the 66 medals, 26 were Gold, 20 Silver, and 20 Bronze.

Indian shooters have always been the flag bearers for the most number of medals brought home in the Commonwealth Games, with wrestling and weightlifting trailing close behind. The big surprise were the whopping 8 medals won by the Indian Table Tennis contingent in Australia. In a wonderful turn of events, 22 year-old Manika Batra from Delhi set a precedent for Indian table tennis players with 4 medals to her name alone, including two Gold.

In another unprecedented move, India secured its first ever Gold medal in Javelin. Neeraj Chopra, with the season’s best effort of 86.47m in the final, made history by becoming the only Indian to ever win a Gold in the field. In fact, only once before has India managed to secure a position in the game, when Kashinath Naik won a bronze in the 2010 CWG Games held in Delhi. This win is a boost for India’s performance in track-and-field events where India was previously sorely lacking in recognition.

MC Mary Kom led the Indian boxing contingent to bag an incredible 9 medals in all, of which 3 were Gold, 3 Silver, and 3 Bronze. Kom won her first Commonwealth Games Gold medal in a spectacular clash against Northern Ireland’s Kristina O’Hara, ending the game on a 5-0 high for Mary.

Predictably, India maintained complete dominion in Badminton - both singles and doubles - finishing with 6 medals in all, including a Gold won by Saina Nehwal in a nail-biting finale against India’s own PV Sindhu. Also characterising India’s upward mobility in sports that aren’t cricket is Srikanth Kidambi, who was recently ranked No.1 in the world in men’s badminton. His mixed doubles win, along with Saina Nehwal, resulted in another Gold for India in the Games. In men’s singles, he lost to Lee Chong Wei from Singapore, and ended up with a Silver instead.

The commendable performance by Indian sportspersons in the 2018 CWG can only be a sign for better times to come, and with the 2020 Olympics not too far ahead, we can all hold up a collective hope for Indian excellence in different sports across the board.