Commonwealth Games 2022: A brief history of India's overall CWG medal tally since 1934

The sporting world is currently gearing up for the Commonwealth Games 2022, scheduled to begin with a grand opening ceremony in Birmingham on July 28. While the coveted quadrennial tournament was first held in 1930, India has made regular appearances at the mega event since 1934, barring the 1950, 1962, and 1986 editions. Since debuting in the showpiece event in 1934, India has won a total of 503 medals at the Commonwealth Games in different sports disciplines.

India’s overall tally of 503 medals includes a total of  181 gold, 173 silver, and 149 bronze medals. Interestingly, in the last three editions of the tournament, India has won 231 out of the 503 medals, which reflects the rapidly rising stature of sports in India. While India’s best performance in the Commonwealth Games came in 2010 in India when the Indian athletes returned with a total of 101 medals including 38 gold, here’s a brief history of the nation’s overall medal tally at the Commonwealth Games.

A look at India's overall medal tally at the Commonwealth Games:

1934 Commonwealth Games London: 

Wrestler Rashid Anwar won the bronze medal for India in wrestling in the 74kg category, which was the first medal for India at the mega event. 

1938 Commonwealth Games Sydney and 1954 Commonwealth Games Vancouver:

India failed to return with medals during the 1938 and 1954 editions of the CWG and didn’t participate in the 1952 edition. 

1958 Commonwealth Games Cardiff:

India won its maiden gold medal at the CWG in 1958, when Milkha Singh picked up the gold in the 440 yards event. India won another gold in the same edition after Lila Ram finished 1st in the 100kg wrestling event. At the same time, India also earned a silver medal in 1958.

1966 Commonwealth Games Kingston: 

India returned with a total of 10 medals from the 1966 edition, which included 3 golds, 4 silvers and 3 bronze medals. All of the three gold medals came for Indian in the wrestling disciplines.

1970 Commonwealth Games Edinburgh: 

India returned with 12 medals from the 1970 CWG, which included  5 gold medals in wrestling. India’s tally also consisted of  3 silver, and 4 bronze medals.

1974 Commonwealth Games Christchurch:

During the 1974 edition, India picked up a total of  15 medals, which included 4 gold medals in wrestling, 8 silver,  and 3 bronze medals.

1978 Commonwealth Games Edmonton: 

Continuing their performance from the previous editions, India once again won 15 medals during the CWG 1978. The tally consisted of five gold medals, 4 silver, and 6 bronze medals. This was the first time India won gold in badminton, courtesy of Prakash Padukone’s show in the men’s singles. 

1982 Commonwealth Games Brisbane:

India won a total of 16 medals during the 1982 edition, including five golds, eight silvers and three bronze medals.

1990 Commonwealth Games Auckland:

Two years later during the 1990 CWG at Auckland, India added 32 more medals to their tally. This included 12 out of 13 gold medals in weightlifting, eight silver medals and 11 bronze medals.

1994 Commonwealth Games Victoria:

During the 1994 addition, India won 24 medals in total. Out of the total tally of seven golds, India picked up four golds in shooting, alongside 10 silver medals and 8 bronze medals.

1998 Commonwealth Games Kuala Lumpur:

During the 1998 edition, India picked up 25 medals in total, which included 7 golds, 10 silvers and 8 bronze medals.

2002 Commonwealth Games Manchester:

India returned with a total of 69 medals from the 2002 edition, which consisted of 30 gold medals, 22 silver and 17 bronze medals.

2006 Commonwealth Games Melbourne:

India added 50 medals to their overall tally in 2006, by winning 22 gold, 17 silver and 11 bronze medals.

2010 Commonwealth Games New Delhi:

India picked up a total of 101 medals during the 2010 CWG in New Delhi, courtesy of 38 gold medals, 27 silver medals and 36 bronze medals.

2014 Commonwealth Games Glasgow:

During the 2014 Glasgow CWG, India won 64 medals, including 15 gold medals, 30 silver and 19 bronze medals.

2018 Commonwealth Games Gold Coast:

During the last edition of the Commonwealth Games, India added 66 medals to their overall tally, by winning 26 gold medals, 20 silver and 20 bronze medals.

(Image: AP/@birminghamcg22/Instagram)