Today, in the world of sports, India doesn’t stand anywhere. Despite last two mildly successful Olympic campaigns, seven medals in Tokyo, and six in Paris, there is a lot left to be desired. I mean, our athletes struggle to make cut to swimming competitions; this when over 50 medals are decided in the pool. Similar is the situation with gymnastics, where we have no representation at all, but nations like China, Japan, and USA manage to clinch medals by loads.
Somehow, we are just happy with our performance at the Commonwealth Games. You remember, the hue and cry we made after India won 61 medals at Birmingham 2022, finishing fourth in the medals table. Well, I do. We finished just behind Australia, England, and Canada, and many of my friends believed, India could come up with a much improved performance at the Paris Olympics.
No Returns in Swimming & Gymnastics
For my part, I had warned them against harboring any false hopes, but such is the nature of expectations. And what happened in 2024 eventually is before us. While golds came easy in wrestling, badminton, table tennis, and weightlifting in CWG, Olympics was a different story altogether. And that is because, Commonwealth Games, to put it mildly, have no competition at all. And our athletes, most of them, are just not up to the mark, for whatever reason.
Only swimming and gymnastics have a good level of athletes there, and our swimmers and gymnasts can’t match up to the standards of the Aussies and the English. In short, they lack the quality to win medals at any stage. Barring that, why should India even send a contingent to such an event, where they are bound to succeed. I mean, we have never won a medal in swimming, and only three in gymnastics. So, that explains.
Moreover, another point of contention is, as many as 13 sports from the CWG program for the 2026 Games have been removed, that include — cricket, hockey, badminton and wrestling as well, that would give little chance for our athletes to shine.
When Commonwealth Games Had Importance
1958 was the year when India won their first gold in the CWG, with Milkha Singh shining in the 440 yards race. But then it was an era where the medals from Indian athletes were not that common. So that really set the tone for others, considering, the nation had not won any gold prior to that.
Or for that matter, Prakash Padukone and Syed Modi’s golds in badminton in 1978 and 1982 editions, which popularised the sport the country. Or even Ashok Pandit’s first ever CWG shooting medal in 1982 Brisbane edition. Those were all game-changers, but apart from that, we are not progressing much in any direction, if we win medals in any discipline at the Games.
CWG Not Making India Stronger in Sports
But now, in all fairness, CWG cannot contribute to development of any sport in the country. Swimming, I feel there is a long way to go to even think of a medal. Rest, all is in a stage where we are better than CWG level, but still not good enough for the Olympic level. For example, at 2022 Birmingham, India won seven boxing medals, but that did not translate into any Olympic medals for India in 2024. So, that speaks volumes of our level, as well as CWGs.
What hurts India even more is, top nations like Australia, England don’t even send their best athletes. Remember, India created history of sorts when Krishna Poonia, Seema Antil, and Harwant Kaur finished on the podium of the women’s discus throw event. That was only possible since the world champion from the previous year, Australia’s Dani Samuels wasn’t participating in Delhi. Then at the 2012 Olympics, Krishna barely qualified for the finals, while Samuels finished seventh.
Say No to CWG, is the Verdict
Something tells me, when the world doesn’t take CWG seriously, we shouldn’t either. There should be a strict policy to send only juniors, or the next in line athletes to the Games, if at all we send a contingent. Last time around, PV Sindhu, in a bid to win an elusive gold, injured her ankle in a way, that she hasn’t been the same player since. So, why? Let us focus on the World Championships, Asian Games and Olympics instead.
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