With a rich run of 61 medals (22 gold, 16 silver and 23 bronze) in this edition of the Commonwealth Games, the Birmingham Games became one of the most memorable editions for the 210-strong Indian contingent. From athletics to racquet sports, cricket to hockey, boxing to wrestling, Indian athletes achieved podium finishes in almost every event they participated in.
Achinta Shuli
Achinta Shuli with a gold medal after winning the men’s 73kg weightlifting category match at the Commonwealth Games 2022 (CWG) in Birmingham, UK. (PTI photo)
Sport – Weightlifting
Event – Men’s 73kg
The Bengal-born weightlifter won his first Commonwealth Games gold medal and set a Games record of 313kg. He lifted 143kg in snatch (sports record and equal to his previous PB) and 170kg in clean and jerk. The 20-year-old won a silver medal at the 2021 Junior World Weightlifting Championships and is also a two-time Commonwealth Championships gold medalist.
Jeremy Lalrinnunga
Jeremy Lalrinnunga during his gold medal lifting round at the Commonwealth Games 2022. (PTI)
Sport – Weightlifting
Event – Men’s 67kg
The Mizoram lifter won the gold medal in the 67kg category at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, lifting sporting records of 140kg in snatch and 160kg in clean and jerk.
The 19-year-old represented India at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires and won India’s first gold medal in the boys’ 62kg category.
Mirabai Chanu
India’s Mirabai Chanu won the gold medal after winning the women’s 49kg weightlifting category match of the Commonwealth Games 2022 (CWG) in Birmingham, UK. (PTI photo/Swapan Mohapatra)
Sport – Weightlifting
Event – Women’s 49kg
The superstar Manipuri weightlifter successfully defended her 49kg title and clinched India’s first gold at the Birmingham Games.
The Tokyo Olympic silver medalist put on a total of 201 kg (88 kg + 113 kg) to seal her right in the competition and achieve a Commonwealth Games record in the process.
Roopa Rani Tirkey, Lovely Choubey, Nayanmoni Saikia, Pinky Singh
The Indian women’s four lawn ball team (Lovely Choubey, Pinky, Nayamoni Saikia, Roopa Rani Tirkey) will take action against South Africa for the gold medal match. (Sai Media)
Sport – Lawn Bowls
Event – Women’s Fours
India’s lawn inspired four women’s teams of Roopa Rani Tirkey, Lovely Choubey, Nayanmoni Saikia and Pink Singh to win a historic gold medal in Birmingham with their inspiring and sensational show.
This was India’s first final appearance in the women’s fours format of the competition.
Bajrang Punia
Sports – Wrestling
Event – Men’s Freestyle 65kg
Bajrang Punia completed a hat-trick of Commonwealth Games medals when he won gold in the men’s 65kg freestyle event.
The bronze medalist from the Tokyo Olympics won a silver medal in her CWG debut in Glasgow in 2014 and then improved her medal color in the Gold Coast by winning the gold four years later.
Sakshi Malik
The criteria for the awards take into account the performance of the athletes over a period of four years. (original file)
Sports – Wrestling
Event – Women’s Freestyle 62kg
Sakshi Malik won her third Commonwealth Games medal when she defeated Ana Godinez Gonzalez of Canada to win the gold medal.
Sakshi had earlier won silver in 2014 (58kg) and bronze in 2018 (62kg) Games. Sakshi is also the first Indian female wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics, having won a bronze medal in 2016.
Deepak Punia
India’s Deepak Punia and Pakistan’s Muhammad Inam react during the final. (Reuters)
Sports – Wrestling
Event – Men’s Freestyle 86kg
Star wrestler Deepak Punia won India’s ninth gold medal in the men’s 86kg final after beating 2018 edition gold medalist Muhammad Inam of Pakistan 3-0 in Birmingham.
A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) in the Indian Army, Deepak also won a silver medal in the freestyle 86 kg category at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships.
Ravi Kumar Dahiya
Ravi Kumar Dahiya of India after winning the gold medal in men’s freestyle 57kg. (Reuters)
Sports – Wrestling
Event – Men’s Freestyle 57kg
The Sonepat-born wrestler clinched the gold medal in the men’s freestyle 57kg final event by defeating Nigeria’s Abikevenimo Welson 10-0 in Birmingham.
Dahiya is also a silver medalist of the Tokyo Olympics since 2020, a bronze medalist at the World Wrestling Championships in 2019 and a three-time Asian champion.
Vinesh Phogat
Sports – Wrestling
Event – Women’s Freestyle 53kg
Star wrestler Vinesh Phogat completed a golden hat-trick of Commonwealth Games gold medal by winning the women’s 53kg freestyle wrestling final event.
Vinesh had won gold in the last two editions at Gold Coast (in 2018) and Glasgow (in 2014).
She is also the first Indian female wrestler to win gold in both Commonwealth and Asian Games (Jakarta 2018).
Naveen Malik
Naveen Kumar defeated Tahir Muhammad Sharif of Pakistan 9-0 in the 74kg final. This is India’s first major title in this category since Sushil Kumar’s title win at the 2018 Gold Coast Games. (PTI)
Sports – Wrestling
Event – 74kg in Men’s Freestyle
Making his Commonwealth Games debut in Birmingham, the 19-year-old wrestler won his maiden gold medal in the showpiece after beating Pakistan’s Muhammad Sharif Tahir 9-0 in the final.
Naveen made his international debut at the Under-23 World Championships last year and won the 74kg gold medal in his second event at the Under-23 Asian Championships in June this year.
Nikhat Zareen
Nikhat Zareen reacts during her round of 16 fight with Helena Ismail Bagao of Mozambique (Reuters)
Sports – Boxing
Event – Women’s 50kg
Defending world champion Nikhat Zareen rocked the stage by winning her maiden gold medal in the women’s 50kg flyweight final event in Birminham. He is also a bronze medalist at the 2019 Asian Championships.
Amit Panghali
Amit Panghal of India, left, and Lennon Mulligan of Scotland, in the men’s fly (48-51 kg) quarter-finals during the Commonwealth Games in The NEC, Birmingham, England, Thursday, August 4, 2022. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
Sports – Boxing
Event – Men’s 51kg
Amit Panghal won his first gold medal in Birmingham on the final day of the showpiece event.
The current Asian Games champion, he is the only Indian male boxer to win a silver medal at the World Boxing Championships and is the current World No. 1 in the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) 52kg category.
Neetu Ghanghas
India’s Neetu Ghanghas poses for a picture during the presentation ceremony for the women’s boxing event weighing above 45-48kg (minimum) at the Commonwealth Games 2022. (PTI)
Sports – Boxing
Event – Women’s 48kg
The 21-year-old Haryana girl won her first medal for India in boxing in Birmingham when she won the gold medal in the women’s 48kg final.
She is also a two-time youth world champion, having won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018.
Sudheri
Sudhir, 27, handicapped by the effects of polio, thus opened India’s para sports medal account in the ongoing Commonwealth Games. (AP/PTI)
Sports – Para Powerlifting
Event – Men’s Heavyweight
A para athlete with polio-induced impairment claimed India’s gold in the men’s heavyweight para powerlifting event in Birmingham and opened India’s para sports medal account.
Sudhir, who is also the Asian Para Games bronze medalist from the 2018 edition, lifted 208kg in his first attempt to increase it to 212kg and broke the Games record by scoring 134.5 points in his second attempt.
PV Sindhu
PV Sindhu reacts after winning the women’s singles final badminton match against Canada’s Michelle Lee at the Commonwealth Games 2022 (CWG) in Birmingham, UK, on Monday, August 8, 2022. (PTI photo / Swapan Mohapatra)
Sports – Badminton
Event – Women’s Singles
After winning silver (2018 Gold Coast) and bronze (2014 Glasgow), there was an elusive gold missing from PV Sindhu’s kitty and she did it in style in Birmingham.
The two-time Olympic medalist led India to its maiden badminton gold on the last day of this edition of the Games.
target army
Lakshya Sen showed the courage to come from behind by defeating Malaysian Tze Yong Ng in three sets (19-21, 21-9, 21-16). (AP photo)
Sports – Badminton
Event – Men’s Singles
Star shuttler Lakshya Sen made a memorable Commonwealth Games debut with his maiden gold in Birmingham.
After winning his maiden Super 500 title in January, runner-up at the All England Championship and German Open, and winning the coveted Thomas Cup, Sen has been in great form for quite some time now.
Chirag Shetty/SatveerKasairaj Rankireddy
India’s Chirag Chandrashekhar Shetty and Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy celebrate victory against England’s Sean Wendy and Ben Lane in the men’s doubles gold medal match at the NEC. (AP)
Sports – Badminton
Event – Men’s Doubles
The men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty improved their medal color (silver at Gold Coast 2018) and won the gold by defeating England’s Ben Lane and Sean Wendy in straight games at Birmingham.
Rankireddy and Shetty were also part of the Indian team that won the historic Thomas Cup title earlier this year.
Achanta Sharath Kamal
Sharath Kamal in action during the final. (PTI)
Sport – Table Tennis
Event – Men’s Singles
Veteran Sharath Kamal’s name will go down in history as he became only the second Indian paddler to win two golds at the Commonwealth Games, the first in Melbourne in 2006 and the latest arriving in Birmingham in style.
With his scintillating gold in Birmingham, Sharath’s total medal tally since his debut in the 2006 edition has gone up to 13.
Sharath Kamal / Shreeja Akula
Sreeja Akula and Sharath Kamal in action at CWG 2022. (Photo: AP)
Sport – Table Tennis
Event – Mixed Doubles
Sharath Kamal and Sreeja Akula won the mixed doubles gold medal in Birmingham after beating Malaysia’s Jawen Chong and Karen Lin 3-1 in the final.
Sharath Kamal cemented his Commonwealth Games legacy with several medals, the top prize being a deserving award for little Sreeja, who missed out on a bronze medal in the singles event.
Harmeet Desai, Sanil Shetty, Sharath Kamal, G Sathiyan
(LR) Sharath Kamal, Harmeet Desai, G Sathiyan and Sanil Shetty. (capture the movie)
Sport – Table Tennis
Event – Men’s team
The Indian men’s table tennis team retained its Commonwealth Games gold medal after a close encounter against Singapore in the final.
The likes of Harmeet Desai, Sanil Shetty, Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan ranked India seventh since the game’s debut in Manchester 2002.
Bhavna Patel
India’s Bhawana Hasmukhbhai Patel in action against Nigeria’s Ikpeoi Ephechukwood Christiana during the final of the Para Table Tennis event at the Commonwealth Games. (PTI)
Sport – Table Tennis
Event – Women’s Singles C3-5
Star para paddler Bhavna Patel won her maiden gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Bhawna, who is also a silver medalist at the Tokyo Paralympics, has won several national and international competitions over the years, including a silver medal in the women’s singles category 4 at the 2013 Asian Para Table Tennis Championships in Beijing.
aldhos paul
India’s Aldhos Paul celebrated by winning the gold medal. (Reuters/Phil Noble)
Sports – Athletics
Event – Triple Jump
Kerala’s Aldhos Paul won a rare gold medal in the men’s triple jump and the 25-year-old won a historic 1-2 in Birmingham.
The special thing was that India also won a silver medal in the same event, in which his compatriot Abdullah Abubakar came second with a best jump of 17.02m.