The 22nd Commonwealth Games begins today. The match will be held in Birmingham, UK. PV Sindhu will carry the Indian flag. The opening ceremonies will start at 11.30 PM IST. More than 5000 athletes from 72 Commonwealth countries will compete in the fair. The fair is till August 8. The competition is in 20 sports. Today is just the opening ceremony. The matches will start tomorrow. India is confident of its good performance in the last fair (22nd Commonwealth Games begin today).
The Games will be held from July 28 to August 8, 2022. This is the third time England is hosting the Commonwealth Games. More than 200 players are competing for India.
India has medal hopes in wrestling, boxing and badminton. India is hoping for a medal in women’s cricket and hockey. It is a setback for India that Neeraj Chopra, who is a solid medal hope, is out due to injury.
Read Also: 119-run win in 3rd ODI against West Indies; India swept the series
India won 26 gold, 20 silver and 20 bronze medals in the last Games held in Gold Coast, Australia. Hosts Australia topped the list with 193 medals in the last Games. Malayalee players such as PR Sreejesh, Tresa Jolly, Sajan Prakash (swimmer), Murali Sreesankar, NC Sojan and others are in the Indian team.
214 member team. 111 males and 104 females. Landing in 16 sports. Athletics has a 32-member team. Neeraj Chopra’s withdrawal and the drug bust in the relay team also dented expectations. There are nine Malayalis in the team. Long jump star M Sreesankar and triple jump player Eldos Paul are promising. There are also medal hopes in badminton, wrestling, hockey, boxing and weightlifting. India also enters the women’s Twenty20 cricket.
World champion and two-time Olympic medalist Sindhu has gold hopes. Among the men, young star Lakshya Sen is also dreaming of a medal. Satwiksairaj Ranka Reddy and Chirag Shetty are also paired in doubles.
Athletics will begin on August 3. Badminton team matches will start tomorrow. India’s first opponent is Pakistan. Nikhat Zareen in Boxing, Joshna Chinnappa Deepika Pallikal in Squash, Manika Batra in Table Tennis, Meerabai Chanu in Weightlifting, Bajrang Poonia, Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik in Wrestling and Manika Batra in Table Tennis are also hopefuls. Hockey and cricket are also medal chances. Australia, Jamaica and Canada are the big teams in the event, along with hosts Britain. As it is held after the World Championship, the leading players are not participating in the fair.
Story Highlights: 22nd Commonwealth Games begin today