Commonwealth Games 2022: Top 7 medal contenders from India

The Commonwealth Games, which was known in the beginning as the British Empires Games is an international multi-sport event. The tournament is contested by athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The first event was organized in 1930. The Competition is held every four years with the exception of 1942 and 1946. Commonwealth Games Federation has been managing the tournament from the very beginning. There are nine nations that have hosted the Commonwealth games until now. They are- Australia (1938, 1962, 1982, 2006, 2018), Canada (1930, 1954, 1978, 1994), New Zealand (1950, 1974, 1990), Scotland (1970, 1986, 2014), England (1934, 2002), Wales (1958), Jamaica (1966), Malaysia (1998) and India (2010). This year the host city for the Commonwealth Games 2022 is Birmingham.

There are many Indian athletes who made their Nation proud by bringing medals. Since its debut, India has won 503 medals in the CWG tournament. As we all know, the Commonwealth Games 2022 will start on 28th July and will continue till 8th August. Let's predict the top 7 medal contenders from India for the Commonwealth Games 2022.

Commonwealth Games 2022: Top 7 medal contenders from India

1. Kidambi Srikanth

Kidambi Srikanth became the first Indian badminton player to win the Super Series Premier in the 2014 China Open Super Series Premier. He ranked world number 1 in the BWF rankings in April 2018. Srikanth, who led team India in the Thomas Cup triumph, went unbeaten in the tournament. Even though he couldn't win an individual silver this year, he performed his best by reaching the semifinals at the Swiss Open and Korea Open. Thus with his current form, he is one of the top contenders to bring a medal for the Nation.

Read Also: Indian Badminton News: Who are the Indians to win the Singapore Open (Men & Women)?

2. Nikhat Zareen

World champion, Nikhat Zareen is all set to win more medals for the country and expects a record haul of four golds from the Indian boxing contingent. Zareen has become the fifth Indian woman to win a gold medal at the IBA World Boxing Championships. The new boxing sensation from Telangana would make her much anticipated CWG debut. Indians can hope to bring at least eight medals from the 12-member Indian boxing team.

3. PV Sindhu

PV Sindhu became the first-ever Indian female athlete to win consecutive Olympic medals. But she has been struggling to win medals since Tokyo Olympics as the road hasn't been easy for Sindhu after the tournament. However, with the win at the Singapore Open, the Hyderabadi shuttler would be feeling confident to book a place at the Commonwealth Games 2022.

4. Indian Men's Hockey Team

The Indian men's Hockey team won six gold medals in a row in the Olympics. The men's hockey team is considered the most successful team ever in Olympics as they had won a total of eight gold medals. The team is all set to make its fifth appearance in the Commonwealth games 2022. They reached the finals in 2010 and 2014 but were defeated by six-time champions Australia on both occasions. After a disappointing campaign in 2018, they will aim to be back in the game at Birmingham.

5. Indian Women's Cricket team

Indian women's cricket team has a great chance to claim a medal at CWG 2022. The team is all set to make their CWG debut at Birmingham. Though the men's team played at the 1998 Kuala Lampur Commonwealth Games, this is the ladies' first journey to CWG. Harmanpreet Kaur will lead the team and Smriti Mandana will be her deputy.

Read Also: 'Indian women's cricket team has a great chance to claim medal at CWG': Mithali Raj

6. Shiva Thapa

Shiva Thapa is one of the contenders for CWG medals. He was one of the main boxers who failed at the Tokyo Olympics. The failure motivated Thapa, even more, he is determined to deliver a great performance in Birmingham. He is the third Indian to win gold at the Asian Games. In addition to that, he was the youngest Indian boxer to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.

7. Bajrang Punia

India's Tokyo Olympic Games bronze medalist, Bajrang Punia is the only Indian wrestler to win three medals at the World Wrestling Championships. The three-time medalist will travel to the USA to train for the upcoming Commonwealth Games. He has already stated that all the mental blockage he had is gone now. Moreover, he is aiming for Gold this time.