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A fresh start
Four years have passed since the last edition of the prestigious Commonwealth Games, portending the arrival of the next. Yes, the 2014 Commonwealth Games will start in a few days from now. The twentieth Commonwealth Games will begin on the 23rd of July and last till the 3rd of August.
Vociferous and blithe crowds, fast paced events, colourful ceremonies, tireless celebrations, fluttering flags and a patriotic fervour, instilled by a sudden rush of adrenaline, all characterise any major sporting event. The Commonwealth Games, being one such event, experiences its fair share of thrills and travails.
Four years ago, Indian fans were brimming with pride at seeing their athletes capture their largest bounty ever since the Games began. As the hosts, it gave us immense pleasure in taking pride at such an achievement, though it was marred by scams. Setting those painful memories aside, and powered by their commendable performances, our athletes embrace new challenges on their trip to Glasgow- one that could change many of their careers and the face of Indian Sports.
This time around, our contingent will be 224 members strong. With a melange of our medallists from Delhi and earlier, experienced warriors and young, fresh talent, we look to better our performance from from the last edition. Though, the advantage of playing on home turf is no longer present, many of our athletes are battle hardened to face the challenges. Let us look at some top medal prospects.
Badminton
Indian dominance in badminton at the Commonwealth Games is not a far dream. In fact, this year could prove to the one where our players can start their run. Women’s singles looks the best bet among the six categories. With Saina and Sindhu, the likely top seeds, the top two medals are almost assured. Saina has reposed faith in her game, which had started to wane, with the Australian Open Super Series win.
The Women’s doubles team of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa will also try to retain their gold and could face hurdles in the form of Malaysian and Singaporean teams,some of whom are ranked higher. Their good form this year, at the Asian Badminton Championships and the Uber Cup only augment their prospects further.
Men’s singles would also be a prospective hunting ground for medals, especially with the absence of World No.1 Lee Chong Wei raising hopes.The other two doubles categories might not find podium finishers for the nation while the team event is another good medal prospect, with India being seeded third.Our players might be decently ranked yet, the might of the English and Malaysians could prove to be a big hurdle.
Wrestling
Wrestling is another sport on the rise in India. Starting with the 2008 bronze won by Sushil Kumar and boosted by two medals in the next Olympics, many talented youngsters are taking up the sport. The Delhi Games saw us capturing a whopping 19 medals in this sport. This time around, the Greco-Roman events for men are not taking place. Led by our Olympic medalists Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt, our wrestlers will look to win a handful of medals and make a fair contribution to our tally.
Shooting
During the Delhi games, our shooters contributed about a third of our total medals. In the current Games, the number of shooting events are reduced and thereby resulting in lesser chances for our shooters to go for a similar number. Led by a cohort of Olympic medalists, World Cup winners and past and present World no.1s, the team raises hope among fans and intimidates opponents. Veterans Abhinav Bindra, Gagan Narang, Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Joydeep Karmakar, Heena Sidhu and others are the ones to look forward to, to give India another major medal haul.
Boxing
Boxing was expected to be the standout sport for India during the London Olympic Games. Yet, most of our boxers fell prey to controversial judgments and unfortunate losses. When they set foot on the British Isles once again, they would look to wipe away all memories from the London Olympics and write a fresh page in the history of Indian Boxing. Even after the Olympics, the sport is going through tumultuous times with the national association being subject to the wrath of the world body for electoral malpractices. India’s greatest boxer, Mary Kom, will not be a part of the squad after she failed to pass the trials held earlier to choose the squad. Olympic medalist Vijender Singh, Youth Olympic medalist Shiva Thapa and a handful of young boxers make up the men’s team while Veteran Sarita Devi, Pooja Rani and Mary Kom’s conqueror Pinki Jangra will be part of the women’s team.
Squash
Squash is a sport where Indians have traditionally not excelled. But, in recent times, the Indian players have been winning some fans through their better performances. Medals are not an assurance in this sport for India. Though, what could go in India’s favour is the doubles competition being played in three categories-Men’s, Women’s and Mixed. They are not regular features in the Squash calendars. Working to our advantage will be having two quality players in each event and the camaraderie that exists between them. This was very well showcased during recent tournaments where our players came up with stellar performances. Saurav Ghoshal and Deepika Pallikal are also medal hopefuls in singles, where there are seeded 4th and 6th respectively.
Athletics
Going into multi-sport events, athletics will definitely be a major attraction. Indian athletes have traditionally not been masters in this turf, except for a few individuals. At this stage, though, competition is a little easier compared to the bigger stages. Track and field events like 400m, long jump, discus throw, women’s 4*400 metres relay and others feature some medal hopefuls like M.R.Poovamma, Vikas Gowda, Krishna Poonia, Sahana Kumari, Mayookha Johny and Tintu Luka.
Two sports where India could have grabbed a handful of medals- tennis and Archery- have been dropped in this edition of the games. Other possible podium finishers could be our Men’s Hockey team and the Weightlifters.
In all, it is going to be another two weeks of anxiety, celebration, hope and disappointment, just to remind us that sport can bring out an array of expressions and feelings from within us.
