India have sent a 215-member contingent for the 2022 Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Birmingham, starting 28 July and stretching onto 8 August.
Though Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra has opted to sit out of the Games due to a groin strain, India have enough talent in their squad to return with a rich medal haul.
Top performers such as two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, Tokyo Olympics silver-medallist Mirabai Chanu, and a few others will be raring to prove themselves when the quadrennial begins on Friday.
Here is a look at the complete schedule of some of India’s top athletes, teams and when their campaigns kick start at the CWG 2022.
PV Sindhu (Badminton)
(Women’s Singles) - 3 August 2022
(Women’s Mixed Team Event) - 29 July 2022
Ace Indian shuttler Pusarla Venkata Sindhu will be keen to grab her maiden CWG gold when she begins her campaign at Birmingham. A part of India’s mixed team event, Sindhu will start her CWG 2022 proceedings on 29 July. Meanwhile, the 27-year-old will be seen in action in her favoured singles event from 3 August.
The World No 7 started her CWG campaign as a rising star in Glasgow (2014), where she won the bronze medal. Sindhu then improved her display at the next CWG (2018) in Gold Coast with a silver medal, losing to countrymate Saina Nehwal in the final.
Hockey Teams
(Women’s) - 29 July 2022
(Men’s) - 31 July 2022
India women’s and men’s hockey teams are grouped alongside Ghana, England, Canada and Wales at CWG 2022 in Pool A and Pool B in their respectively categories. Both the teams will begin their campaign at Birmingham against Ghana, with the women playing on 29 July and men on 31 July.
Consistent performers since the sport’s inclusion at the CWG in 1998, the Indian men’s hockey team has bagged two silver medals (2010, 2014) while the women have emerged winners in 2002 and clinched a silver in 2006. Goalkeeper Savita Punia will lead the women's team and midfielder Manpreet Singh will captain the men’s side.
Dipika Pallikal (Squash)
(Women’s Doubles) - 4 August 2022
(Squash Mixed Doubles) - 3 August 2022
Following a three-year hiatus, ace Indian squash player Dipika Pallikal recently made her comeback into the sport and will be in action at CWG 2022. The first Indian woman to break into the top-10 World Rankings in squad, Dipika, however, will solely play as a double's specialist in this year’s edition at Birmingham.
She will partner alongside World No 17, Joshna Chinappa, in the women’s doubles section, starting their campaign on 4 August. The Dipika-Joshna duo have tasted success in the past at CWG, winning gold in the 2014 edition at Glasgow and silver in 2018. Meanwhile, Dipika will feature alongside World No 15 Saurav Ghosal in the mixed doubles section.
Wrestling
(Women & Men) - 5 August 2022
India have sent a 11-member wrestling team (six women, five men), who will enter start their campaigns when the wrestling events get underway on 5 August at the CWG 2022. Few major names in the grappling team include Ravi Kumar Dahiya, Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat, among others.
A silver-medallist at the Tokyo Olympics, Ravi Kumar (57kg) is yet to win a CWG medal and will be keen to lay his hands on one at Birmingham. Bajrang (65kg) and Vinesh (53kg), on the other hand, are CWG veterans with two medals under their belt. 28-year-old Bajrang won a silver (2014) and a gold in 2018, while Vinesh is a two-time gold medal winner (2014, 2018).
Mirabai Chanu (Weightlifting Women’s) - 31 July 2022
Star Indian weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu will compete in the 49kg event at the 2022 CWG. The Tokyo Olympic silver-medallist will start her CWG campaign on 31 July and will be looking to add one more to her list of medals at the quadrennial event. Mirabai had earlier impressed one and all with a silver medal display back in 2014, and then improved it with a gold medal at Glasgow (2018).
Nikhat Zareen (Boxing Women’s) - 31 July 2022
2022 World Boxing Championship winner Nikhat Zareen will represent India in the women’s light flyweight class at the CWG 2022. The Hyderabad-based pugilist will begin her Birmingham campaign on 31 July and is expected to win a medal due to her recent international successes. This will, however, be the 26-year-old's debut campaign at CWG.
Lovlina Borgohain (Boxing Women’s) - 30 July 2022
A bronze-medal winner at 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Lovlina Borgohain will kick start her campaign in the women’s light middleweight category at CWG 2022 on 30 July. This will be the second appearance at CWG for the 24-year-old, who had earlier crashed out in the quarter-finals at Gold Coast in 2018.
Manika Bartra (Table Tennis)
(Women’s Team) - 29 July 2022
(Women’s Singles) - 3 August 2022
(Women’s Doubles/Mixed Doubles) - 4 August
Ace Indian paddler Manika Batra has a busy schedule at the CWG 2022, where she will compete in the team, women’s singles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles sections respectively. The 27-year-old will begin her campaign at Birmingham with the women's team event starting on 29 July.
Manika will pair alongside young Diya Chitale in the women’s doubles category while in the mixed doubles, she will be seen with G Sathiyan with whom she had won a bronze medal in 2018.
In fact, Manika had a rich haul of success in CWG 2018, winning gold in both singles and women’s team events, and a silver medal in women’s doubles besides her third-place finish in mixed doubles.
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