The jumbo Indian contingent is off to a good start at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, with Mirabai Chanu clinching Gold and Gururaja winning Silver medals in weightlifting on Thursday, 5 April.
From just one medal in Hamilton 1930 to 101 medals in Delhi in 2010, India has won a total of 436 medals at the CWG.
The Delhi CWG was the most successful event, nearly one fourth of all the medals that India has clinched came in 2010, and India finished second in the medals tally.
At the previous edition in Glasgow, the Indian medal tally stood at 64 – 15 gold, 30 silver and 19 bronze. This year, the 218-strong contingent would be expected to either better it or ensure that the final count hovers close to the previous haul.
The likes of PV Sindhu, Jitu Rai, Saina Nehwal, MC Mary Kom, Sushil Kumar and Vinesh Phogat are being considered as medal certainties.
The major burden of expectations would once again be on shooters, boxers, shuttlers and wrestlers, who have historically performed well and are heading to the games in amazing form.
The top four Indian athletes with highest medal tally are all shooters – Jaspal Rana (15), Samaresh Jung (14), Gagan Narang (10), Abhinav Bindra (9).
Weightlifter Satheesha Rai (6) is tied with another shooter Vijay Kumar at number five.
Where India Ranks?
Out of the 71 countries which participate in the Commonwealth Games, India’s medal tally is among the top five.
Australia, England and Canada hold the top ranks with 2,218, 2,008 and 1,473 medals respectively. New Zealand beats India with a total of 610 against India’s 438. However, India (155) has more gold medals than New Zealand (144).
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)