Why Commonwealth Games 2022 could be India's most successful CWG campaign since 2014?

The Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham came to a close on Monday after 11 days of intense sporting action across different sporting disciplines. The Indian contingent finished their campaign on the last day of CWG 2022 by winning a total of four gold medals, one silver medal, and a bronze medal which took their overall medal tally to 61. Although this tally was five medals short of what India earned during the previous edition of the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, 2018, the 2022 campaign can be regarded as India’s best since 2014, due to the various reasons listed below. 

First-time achievements for Team India

The 2022 edition of CWG brought a flurry of first-time achievements for India in different sports. The duo of Aldhose Paul and Abdulla Aboobacker returned with a historic 1-2 for India in the Men’s Triple Jump Final, which happened for the first time. At the same time, India went on to win a total of eight medals in Athletics. 

Ahead of CWG 2022, India had never clinched a medal in the Lawn Bowls event. However, the India women’s fours team won the Fours Lawn Bowls event and picked up a gold medal, which was the first medal for the Indian contingent in a sport that is relatively unknown in the country. The tally rose to two medals after the Men’s Fours team clinched the silver medal after losing the final.

Historic silver medal in cricket for India

While Judo didn’t feature in CWG 2018 in Gold Coast, Team India won two silver medals and a bronze medal in the sport in 2022. The 2022 edition saw cricket making its return as an event in the CWG for the first time in 24 years, with Women’s T20I making its debut. The India women’s cricket team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur picked up the historic silver medal in the sport at CWG 2022. 

Absence of shooting and archery from CWG 2022

The CWG 2022 didn’t feature shooting and archery, two of the events in which India has dominated other countries the most in the history of the Commonwealth Games. While India’s overall gold medal tally at CWG stands at 203 after the 2022 edition, India has won a staggering no. of 63 gold medals in shooting. While India won 66 medals in 2018, 16 of them, including seven gold medals came for the contingent in Archery. 

Meanwhile, in Gold Coast 2014, India clinched a total of 17 medals, including four gold medals in shooting. On the other hand, India has earned a total of 125 medals so far in archery in the history of CWG. The fact that India won 22 gold medals, alongside 16 silver and 23 bronze medals in CWG 2022, shows how India has managed to perform better than the last two editions without archery and shooting being a part of the coveted quadrennial event.

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