'Got goosebumps as Neeraj Chopra won Olympics gold': Smriti Mandhana eyes CWG 2022 glory

Team India women's vice-captain Smriti Mandhana revealed how excited she is to represent her country at the upcoming Commonwealth Games 2022 and stated that she was looking to win nothing less than gold. The 26-year-old revealed how Neeraj Chopra winning a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics last year gave her goosebumps and how she hoped to replicate a similar performance at the CWG this year.

Smriti Mandhana hopes to win CWG 2022 gold

While speaking at a press conference on Friday, Smriti Mandhana said, "All the girls are really excited. We all know the feeling as we have all watched Commonwealth Games as well as the Olympics. When the Indian flag goes higher and we hear the national anthem, everyone knows that feeling."

As for India's chances at the CWG 2022 event, she went on to state, "We are aiming for gold. We are not looking just for a podium finish. I literally got goosebumps when Neeraj Chopra won a gold medal at the Olympics. We have an opportunity to do that, obviously not at the Olympics but at the Commonwealth Games."

The Indian women's team is placed in Group A alongside world champions Australia, arch-rivals Pakistan and Barbados. Speaking of the challenge posed by the teams in India's group, Mandhana added, "We all are really excited and we know the groups which were decided long back. So we have our plans in place for Pakistan, Australia and Barbados. So hopefully, things will work the way we have planned."

While speaking specifically about the challenge posed by Australia, Mandhana replied, "In a T20 tournament, any team can beat any team. I wouldn't term Australia as a big team and make them feel good about that. Definitely in our heads, Australia, Pakistan and Barbados matches are important. We will go as they come and will look to win all of them."

Team India's squad for CWG 2022

Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, S. Meghana, Taniyaa Sapna Bhatia (Wk), Yastika Bhatia (Wk), Deepti Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Thakur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Radha Yadav, Harleen Deol, Sneh Rana.

Standby: Simran Dil Bahadur, Richa Ghosh, Poonam Yadav.