New Delhi: India is all set to lay its hands on multiple medals as a strong 205-member contingent will be playing the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The nation will compete in 15 sports, leaving just 3×3 basketball, beach volleyball, netball and rugby sevens. The inclusion of women’s T20 cricket has added to the excitement for the Indian fans, while the exclusion of shooting and archery will prove to be a setback as India was one of the leading nations in both of these disciplines.
India is likely to win multiple medals in Badminton, Weightlifting, Wrestling and Boxing as the nation has been one of the dominant forces in these sports. With two-times Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu, ace wrestler Bajrang Punia and boxers like Lovlina Borgohain and Amit Panghal, the Indian contingent seems to finish among the top three countries at the event.
Take a look at India’s contingent in all disciplines:
Athletics
Although Neeraj Chopra is not part of the Indian Athletics contingent due to an injury, India still has a great chance of winning medals. With Avinash Sable (Men’s 3000 m Steeplechase0, Eldhose Paul (Men’s Triple Jump), Annu Rani (Women’s Javelin Throw), Rohit Yadav (Men’s Javelin Throw) and Murali Sreeshankar (Men’s Long Jump) reaching the finals at the World Athletics Championships 2022, India has high hopes from its athletes.
The contingent also has Navjeet Dhillon and Seema Punia who won bronze and silver respectively in the last CWG.
| Athlete | Event |
| Avinash Sable | Men’s 3000 m Steeplechase and 5000 m |
| Noah Nirmal Tom, Amoj Jacob, Naganathan Pandi, Rajesh Ramesh and Muhammed Variyathodi | Men’s 4×400 m Relay |
| Nitender Rawat | Marathon |
| Sandeep Kumar | Men’s 10 km Walk |
| Amit Khatri | Men’s 10 km Walk |
| Tejaswin Shankar | Men’s High Jump |
| Muhammed Yahiya | Men’s Long Jump |
| Murali Sreeshankar | Men’s Long Jump |
| Abdulla Aboobacker | Men’s Triple Jump |
| Eldhose Paul | Men’s Triple Jump |
| Praveen Chitravel | Men’s Triple Jump |
| Rohit Yadav | Men’s Javelin Throw |
| DP Manu | Men’s Javelin Throw |
| Jilna Madathile Veett | Women’s 100 m |
| Hima Das | Women’s 200 m |
| Jyothi Yarraji | Women’s 100 m Hurdles |
| Dutee Chand, Hima Das, Srabani Nanda, Siml Noormblakal Samuvel and Jilna Madathile Veett | Women’s 4×100 m Relay |
| Bhawna Jat | Women’s 10 km Walk |
| Priyanka Goswami | Women’s 10 km Walk |
| Ancy Sojan | Women’s Long Jump |
| Manpreet Kaur | Women’s Shot Put |
| Navjeet Dhillon | Women’s Discus Throw |
| Seema Punia | Women’s Discus Throw |
| Manju Bala | Women’s Hammer Throw |
| Sarita Singh | Women’s Hammer Throw |
| Annu Rani | Women’s Javelin Throw |
| Shilpa Rani | Women’s Javelin Throw |
Badminton
Led by two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu India’s badminton contingent is one of the strongest. Sindhu will eye on converting her silver into gold as she is in a tremendous form. She recently won the Singapore Open Super 500 and is looking unstoppable. Along with her the men’s team is doing great as they won the Thomas Cup 2022 which can be noted as one of the biggest achievements for Indian badminton.
Lakshay Sen is in a good form and is currently world number 10. Kidambi Srikanth and the duo of Rankireddy and Shetty will also be looking to convert their silvers into golds. India won the mixed team gold in 2018 and looks strong enough to repeat that performance.
| Athlete | Event |
| PV Sindhu | Women’s Singles |
| Aakarshi Kashyap | Women’s Singles |
| Kidambi Srikanth | Men’s Singles |
| Lakshya Sen | Men’s Singles |
| Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty | Men’s Doubles |
| Gayathri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly | Women’s Doubles |
| Ashwini Ponnappa and Sumeeth Reddy | Mixed Doubles |
Boxing
With Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain and World Champion Nikhat Zareen, Indian women boxers are set to bring medals. Though the team will be missing the experience of Mary Kom, the team looks strong enough to win multiple medals.
The men’s contingent has big names like former world number 1 Amit Panghal, and five-time Asian medallist Shiva Thapa who are among India’s top athletes this time.
| Athlete | Event |
| Amit Panghal | Men’s 51 kg |
| Muhammad Hussamuddin | Men’s 57 kg |
| Shiva Thapa | Men’s 63.5 kg |
| Rohit Tokas | Men’s 67 kg |
| Sumit Kundu | Men’s 75 kg |
| Ashish Kumar Chaudhary | Men’s 80 kg |
| Sanjeet Kumar | Men’s 92 kg |
| Sagar | Men’s +92 kg |
| Nitu Ghas | Women’s 48 kg |
| Nikhat Zareen | Women’s 50 kg |
| Jaismine Lamboria | Women’s 60 kg |
| Lovlina Borgohain | Women’s 70 kg |
Cricket
Indian women’s cricket team is ranked fourth in the world in the T20Is and has a chance to lay their hands on a medal. With Harmanpreet Kaur captaining the side, India has star players like Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma and Shefali Verma who can help India to get the title. Australia and England will be India’s toughest opponents.
Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Taniya Bhatia (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Harleen Deol, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Sabbhineni Meghana, Sneh Rana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav
Cycling
| Athlete | Event |
| Y Rojith Singh | Men’s Team Sprint |
| L Ronaldo Singh | Men’s Sprint, Men’s Team Sprint, Men’s 1000 m Time Trail, Men’s Keirin |
| E David Bechkam | Men’s Team Sprint, Men’s 1000 m Time Trail |
| Esow Alben | Men’s Sprint, Men’s Team Sprint, Men’s Keirin |
| Vishvajeet Singh | Men’s 4000 m Team Pursuit, Men’s 4000 m Individual Pursuit, Men’s 15km Scratch Race |
| Naman Kapil | Men’s 4000 m Team Pursuit |
| Venkappa Shivappa Kengalugutti | Men’s 4000 m Team Pursuit, Men’s 40 km Point Race |
| Dinesh Kumar | Men’s 4000 m Team Pursuit, Men’s 4000 m Individual Pursuit |
| Annantha Naryanan | Men’s 4000 m Team Pursuit |
| Triyasha Paul | Women’s sprint, Women’s Team Sprint, Women’s Keirin, 500 m Time Trail |
| Meenakshi | Women’s 10 km Scratch Race, Women’s 3000 m Individual Pursuit |
| Shushikala Agashe | Women’s Team Sprint |
| Mayuri Dhanraj Lute | Women’s Sprint, Women’s Team Sprint, Women’s Keirin, 500 m Time Trail |
Gymnastics
The gymnasts will look to better their last time’s performance where the Men’s Artistic Team stood 9th and the women’s team stood 7th in the event.
| Athlete | Event |
| Yogeshwar Singh | Men’s Artistic Team |
| Satyajit Mondal | Men’s Artistic Team |
| Saif Tamboli | Men’s Artistic Team |
| Ruthuja Natraj | Women’s Artistic Team |
| Protistha Samanta | Women’s Artistic Team |
| Pranati Nayak | Women’s Artistic Team |
| Balveen Kaur | Women’s Rhythmic |
Hockey
The Indian men’s team won bronze after 41 years in the Olympics while the women’s team also reached the third-place match in Tokyo. The women’s team won gold in 2002, while the men still settled for silver in CWG. With Manpreet Singh as the captain and experienced campaigners like PR Sreejesh, Amit Rohidas and Lalit Upadhyay, the men’s team has a chance to win the gold medal. on the other hand, India has built a strong women’s team led by Savita Punia with fierce strikers like Vandana Kataria and Sharmila Devi.
Indian men’s hockey team: PR Sreejesh, Krishan B Pathak, Varun Kumar, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Shamsher Singh, Akashdeep Singh and Nilakanta Sharma, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Gurjant Singh, Abhishek.
Indian women’s hockey team: Savita, Rajani Etimarpu, Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur, Nikki Pradhan, Udita, Nisha, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Monika, Neha, Jyoti, Navjot Kaur and Salima Tete, Vandana Katariya, Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur, Sharmila Dev, Sangita Kumari.
Judo
India has had a great history in the sport, in 1990 Narendra Singh and Rajendra Dhanger won a bronze each, in 2002 Akram Shah won a silver while Bhupinder Singh won a bronze medal. In the 2014 Glasgow games, India won 2 silver medals and 2 bronze, including 3 medals in Women’s Judo. Sushila Likmabam and Navjot Chana won silver while Kalpana Thoudam and Rajwinder Kaur won bronze medals.
| Athlete | Event |
| Shushila Devi Likmabam | Women’s 48kg |
| Suchika Tariyal | Women’s 57kg |
| Tulika Maan | Women’s 78kg |
| Deepak Deswal | Men’s 100kg |
| Vijay Kumar Yadav | Men’s 60kg |
| Jasleen Singh Saini | Men’s 66kg |
Lawn Bowls
| Athlete | Event |
| Dinesh Kumar | Men’s Triples, Men’s Fours |
| Chandan Kumar Singh | Men’s Triples, Men’s Fours |
| Navneet Singh | Men’s Triples, Men’s Fours |
| Sunil Bahadur | Men’s Singles, Men’s Pairs |
| Mridul Borgohain | Men’s Pairs, Men’s Fours |
| Lovely Choubey | Women’s Pairs, Women’s Fours |
| Tania Choudhury | Women’s Triples, Women’s Fours |
| Nayanmoni Saikia | Women’s Singles, Women’s Pairs |
| Rupa Rani Tirkey | Women’s Triples, Women’s Fours |
Squash
India won two silvers in the 2018 Commonwealth Games, both involving star player Dipika Pallikal. She along with Joshna Chinappa in Women’s Doubles and with Saurav Ghosal in Mixed Doubles won India the medals. They will surely be going for the gold this time.
| Athlete | Event |
| Saurav Ghosal | Men’s Singles |
| Ramit Tandon | Men’s Singles |
| Abhay Singh | Men’s Singles |
| Joshna Chinappa | Women’s Singles |
| Sunayna Kuruvilla | Women’s Singles |
| Anahat Singh | Women’s Singles |
| Ramit Tandon and Harinder Pal Sandhu | Men’s Doubles |
| Abhay Singh and Velavan Senthilkumar | Men’s Doubles |
| Sunayna Kuruvilla and Anahat Singh | Women’s Doubles |
| Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa | Women’s Doubles |
| Dipika Pallikal and Saurav Ghosal | Mixed Doubles |
| Ramit Tandon and Joshna Chinappa | Mixed Doubles |
Swimming
India named a young 4-men swimming contingent for the Birmingham games. Sajan Prakash, who stood 8th and 7th in 200 m butterfly and 1500 m freestyle respectively in the last games, will lead the team.
| Athlete | Event |
| Sajan Prakash | Men’s 50 m, 100 m and 200 m Butterfly |
| Srihari Nataraj | Men’s 50 m, 100 m and 200 m Backstroke |
| Kushagra Rawat | Men’s 200 m, 400 m and 1500 m Freestyle |
| Advait Page | Men’s 1500 m Freestyle |
Table Tennis
With 8 medals, including 3 golds in 2018, the Indian table-tennis contingent has done well in past. Led by experienced campaigners Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra, who won the gold in the last CWG, the Indian team is likely to win multiple medals this time also. India will also be competing in the men’s and women’s team events where they won 2 golds last time.
| Athlete | Event |
| Sharath Achanta Kamal | Men’s Singles |
| Sathiyan Gnanasekaran | Men’s Singles |
| Sanil Shetty | Men’s Singles |
| Manika Batra | Women’s Singles |
| Sreeja Akula | Women’s Singles |
| Reeth Tennison | Women’s Singles |
| Sanil Shetty and Harmeet Desai | Men’s Doubles |
| Sharath Achanta Kamal and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran | Men’s Doubles |
| Manika Batra and Diya Chitale | Women’s Doubles |
| Srija Akula and Reeth Tennison | Women’s Doubles |
| Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manika Batra | Mixed Doubles |
| Sanil Shetty and Reeth Tennison | Mixed Doubles |
| Srija Akula and Sharath Achanta Kamal | Mixed Doubles |
Triathlon
| Athlete | Event |
| Adarsh MS | Men’s |
| Vishwanath Yadav | Men’s |
| Sanjana Joshi | Women’s |
| Pragnya Mohan | Women’s |
| Pragnya Mohan, Adarsh MS, Vishwanath Yadav, Sanjana Joshi | Mixed Relay |
Weightlifting
With Mirabai Chanu’s silver medal heroics at the Tokyo Olympics and a gold medal on Gold Coast, success in weightlifting is guaranteed. India topped the medal tally in the sport with 9 medals including 5 golds in 2018. The 15-member contingent is expected to bring more medals this time, and this makes weightlifting a sport to look out for.
| Athlete | Event |
| Mirabai Chanu | Women’s 49 kg |
| Bindyarani Devi | Women’s 55 kg |
| Popy Hazarika | Women’s 59 kg |
| Harjinder Kaur | Women’s 71 kg |
| Punam Yadav | Women’s 76 kg |
| Usha Kumara | Women’s 87 kg |
| Purnima Pandey | Women’s +87 kg |
| Sanket Mahadev | Men’s 55 kg |
| Gururaja | Men’s 61 kg |
| Jeremy Lalrinnunga | Men’s 67 kg |
| Achinta Sheuli | Men’s 73 kg |
| Ajay Singh | Men’s 81 kg |
| Vikas Thakur | Men’s 96 kg |
| Lovepreet Singh | Men’s 109 kg |
| Gurdeep Singh | Men’s +109 kg |
Wrestling
India has been a dominant team in wrestling, bringing 12 medals in the last games. Bajrang Punia, Rahul Aware, Sushil Kumar, Sumit malik and Vinesh Phogat won the gold medals in 2018 and will be looking to repeat their performances in 2022 too. With Bajrang Punia, Ravi Kumar Dahiya, and Sakshi Malik, the Indian wrestling contingent looks strong with these Olympic medallists.
| Athlete | Event |
| Pooja Gehlot | Women’s 50 kg |
| Vinesh Phogat | Women’s 53 kg |
| Anshu Malik | Women’s 57 kg |
| Sakshi Malik | Women’s 62 kg |
| Divya Kakran | Women’s 68 kg |
| Pooja Sihag | Women’s 76 kg |
| Ravi Kumar Dahiya | Men’s 57 kg |
| Bajrang Punia | Men’s 65 kg |
| Naveen | Men’s 74 kg |
| Deepak Punia | Men’s 86 kg |
| Mohit Grewal | Men’s 125 kg |
