CWG 2022: Bajrang Punia to Vinesh Phogat, Haryana athletes top Indian contingent for Games
In the national women's hockey team, out of the 18 players, 8 are from Haryana.
New Delhi: The Indian contingent going for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham has 215 athletes who will be competing across 15 disciplines at the event. The contingent has athletes from almost all the states and Union Territories, but the maximum of them are from Haryana. Out of the 215 athletes, 39 belong to Haryana. Other states following in the list are Punjab (26), Tamil Nadu (17), and Delhi and Maharashtra (14 each).
Athletes from Haryana
Haryana has been a hub for close contact sports like judo, wrestling and boxing. In the current contingent, the state has athletes a total of 39 athletes, out of which 19 are women. In the national women’s hockey team, out of the 18 players, 8 are from Haryana.
From the 2018 Gold Coast games, 22 out of the 66 medallists were from Haryana, and the state will expect to have a similar performance in the upcoming games as Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, Seema Punia, Amit Panghal, Jaismine Lamboriya, and many others are strong contenders for medals this year.
Other states
From the captain of the women’s cricket team, Harmanpreet Kaur to the captain of the men’s hockey team, Manpreet Singh, Punjab has contributed 26 athletes. Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Kerala are known for racket sports like Badminton, Squash and Table Tennis. Apart from Haryana, Delhi is another state that has athletes in close contact sports.
Assam has seven athletes in the current contingent. The state has produced several medal winners and all seven will be eyeing the podium finish this time. Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain will be everyone’s favourite to get a medal at CWG. While weightlifter Popy Hazarika, boxer Shiva Thapa and sprinter Hima Das will also try and get their hands on a medal.
Andaman and Nicobar islands, which have an estimated population of just over 4 lakh, have given the nation two brilliant cyclists who have raised hopes for a podium finish in the sport. Esow Alben became the first Indian cyclist to reach the top 10 of the world rankings and he along with E David Beckham will be strong contenders.