The Indian athletes will be looking to continue the country’s legacy of finishing the quadrennial tournament in the top 4 with the 200+ athletes we have on board.
Representation image (Picture Credits - Twitter)
As the 2022 Commonwealth Games kick start today in Birmingham, England, the talented and ambitious Indian contingent will be raring to show their skills to the world and make their nation proud.
The Indian athletes will be looking to continue the country’s legacy of finishing the quadrennial tournament in the top 4 with the 200+ athletes we have on board. They will be looking forward to bettering the medal tally than 66 medals which was the number in the 2018 Games at Gold Coast.
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However, the team will be missing an athlete who was going to be the flag bearer for the Indian team this time round. Olympic champion and World Championship silver medallist Neeraj Chopra was going to lead the contingent in the Commonwealth Games if it wasn’t for an unfortunate groin injury that he suffered during his recent World Championship.
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Despite this major setback, we have some of the best athletes this tournament has to offer in various sports this year. Let us have a look at some of the top medal contenders for the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the sport they will be taking part in.
Former World Champion and World number 7 PV Sindhu is the only badminton player who has won two olympic medals in consecutive editions of the game. She has also been made the flag bearer for the Indian contingent after the news of Neeraj Chopra’s exit from the tournament due to injury.
Olympic Silver medallist weightlifter Mirabai Chanu will be another athlete who will be looking to defend her Commonwealth Games gold medal in this year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. She won the gold medal in the 2018 Games at Gold Coast for the 48kg Category.
Current World number 9 Lakshya Sen is another gold feather in the Indian Badminton team’s cap who will be looking to win his maiden Commonwealth Games medal this time. The 20 year old has been in prime form this season having won gold with the Indian team in Thomas Cup. Sen also finished as the runner-up in the 2022 All England Open.
Olympic Silver medallist Ravi Kumar Dahiya is all set to bag himself a Commonwealth Games medal in this year’s tournament in the Freestyle category. The 24 year old had just missed out on gold at the Olympics but will be fully focussed to get his hands on the Commonwealth Games gold this time.
Another Wrestling gem of India who will be taking part in this year’s Commonwealth Games is Arjuna Awardee Bajrang Punia. The 28 year old will be defending his gold medal which he won at the 2018 CWG at Gold Coast. Having won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, Punia will be looking to provide some tactful wrestling displays to all of his fans.
Boxing will be another sport to look forward to in the upcoming Commonwealth Games as the Indian boxing contingent has some experienced and talented boxers in different categories who will be stepping into the ring this year. Olympic Bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain will be looking to deliver another medal winning performance in the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The 24 year old will be playing for her maiden Commonwealth Games medal this year.
Another talented boxer who will be looking forward to a good tournament is World champion Nikhat Zareen. Becoming only the fifth Indian woman to become the World champion in Boxing this year, she will be settling for nothing less than a gold medal in this year’s games.
The Indian Table Tennis team for the CWG will have Manika Batra with them this year as well and will be hoping that the 27 year old will defend her Commonwealth Gold medal this year after coming out on top in the 2018 CWG at Gold Coast.
This edition of the Commonwealth Games will witness the debut of cricket as well. The Indian Women’s Cricket team will be looking forward to adding a gold medal in their maiden Commonwealth Games campaign this year.
After a successful spell at the Tokyo Olympic Games, the Indian hockey team will be looking to carry forward their momentum into this year’s Commonwealth Games and try to go for gold this time round.
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