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The 21st edition of the Commonwealth Games, to be held in the picturesque backdrop of Gold Coast, is almost upon us. Like every other edition, India is once again ready to bask in the shimmering glory of their favourite multi-discipline sporting extravaganza.
Why favourite, you ask? Well, for starters, since the 1990s the one multi-sport event in which India has enjoyed the most success is the Commonwealth Games.
And, this year as well, India is expected to bring home a bunch of medals; especially in shooting, wrestling, badminton, boxing and weightlifting, there will be a glut of the gold. However, only after putting each medal won under the microscope -- wherein one needs to measure the competition and form -- can one decide if he should join the revelries or if he should only see it as a stepping stone for the bigger success to come.
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Before progressing any further, one should bear in mind that this article is not intended to undermine the effort of any athlete at the Commonwealth Games.
Why India should not go overboard with CWG medal celebrations
At the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, India had claimed a total of 14 gold medals. Five of them had come from wrestling, four from shooting, while three came from weightlifting.
A few months later in Incheon, at the Asian Games, India could manage only 10 golds. Shooting and wrestling brought one gold each, while weightlifting did not bring any.
Cut to 2016, the focus now has shifted to Brazil's capital, Rio de Janeiro and the occasion was the Olympic Games. The competition was stiff, but hopes were pinned on the shooters, the wrestlers and the weightlifters. How many golds would the Indian athletes bring back from the football-crazy country was the question running through everybody's minds.
After 16 days of intense, drama-filled action, India could only manage two medals, one from wrestling and one from badminton. The number of golds? Nill.
The low haul was a shock for many who had begun dreaming of possibly India's best return ever at the Olympics. After all, didn't the Indian wrestlers, weightlifters and shooters bring a bunch back from Glasgow just two years earlier? This very statistic should beg us to take a careful look-see at the medal haul from Gold Coast.
Another important fact that most seem to forget in all the gung-ho about the medal haul is that the realm of the Commonwealth spans only about 30 percent of the world.
The devil lies in the detail
In sports like wrestling, shooting, weightlifting, boxing and badminton (namely, the sports in which the country is expected to win the most medals in), there is little to no competition at the Commonwealth Games.
In wrestling, we do not see the mighty Russians or the Japanese, the Cubans, the Americans -- no one. The traditional giants of shooting, China, Russia, the USA, Italy or Germany are absent. In badminton, again, Japan, China, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia and Denmark are absent. Weightlifting, as well, is bereft of the top countries.
Strikingly, only two medals out of 72 available in wrestling at the Rio Olympics were won by Commonwealth countries. Only four shooting medals out of the 45 available went to the Commonwealth stock. In weightlifting, none of the Rio medallists was from Commonwealth flock.
In such a scenario, do we really need to send a Sushil Kumar or a Saina Nehwal or a Gagan Narang to Gold Coast to bag the top prize, when even our second stringers will be able to bring back the yellow metal?
The only compelling reason why the proven pros do go for the Games is that they can. But is the obvious thing for any country will be to send in their best athletes? No.
When you look at the mature sporting nations, they take the opportunity at the Commonwealth Games to test their young prospects to see how they perform in the big-ticket events, under pressure. India, on the other hand, sends seasoned pros (in most disciplines) in hopes of bagging the maximum medals possible.
Looking forward to Incheon, and Tokyo
One must remember that gold at the Commonwealth Games always comes with its caveat of the carat. Don't get me wrong. The Commonwealth Games is important. But it should be looked upon as an event that helps one make progress towards a specified goal, the Olympics.
With the Jakarta Asian Games just a few months away and the Tokyo Olympics about two years down the line, the Commonwealth Games poses to be the perfect stage for the athletes to prepare. Especially for the juniors, it’s a good international experience before the big senior events. But the seniors cannot rest on their laurels at the Commonwealth Games anymore.
But what about the spectators? While it will be okay to applaud the stars, one should not be submerged in sweeping appreciation. Instead, one should just hold on to his horses until 2020, when the Tokyo Olympics will ensue. Success in Tokyo is not guaranteed, but it will be hard-earned and worthy of all the praise.
