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.

Indian star shuttler PV Sindhu has been eliminated from the Indonesia Open 2025 badminton tournament after losing in the round of 16. She was defeated badly by Thailand's Pornpawee Chochuwong in the pre-quarterfinals on Thursday.

Sindhu shows tremendous fight in first two games

PV Sindhu started the match brilliantly. She won the first game 22-20. She did not give any chance to the opponent to recover in this game. Pornpawee Chochuwong had no answer to Sindhu's aggressive returns as the score read 10-16 in favour in the first game. However, the tables turned completely in the second game.

Where Sindhu looked set to lose the first game, she pulled it right back in to clinch it, as the score read 22-20. After winning the first game, where Sindhu hoped to capitalise, Chochuwong was quick to turn it around, dominating Sindhu in the game, winning it by 21-10; furthermore, she went on to win the third game by 21-18, as Sindhu was eliminated from the Indonesia Open 2025 badminton tournament.

Satwik-Chirag enter quarterfinals

On the other hand, Indian men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty came back from a game down to notch up a win to enter the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Open 2025.

Satwik-Chirag beat Denmark’s Rasmus Kjaer and Frederik Sogaard 16-21, 21-18, 22-20 in a match lasting one hour and eight minutes in the BWF Super 1000 tournament.

Treesa-Gayatri lost

The women’s doubles duo Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also lost 13-21, 22-24 to Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto of Japan in the round of 16 stage.

In mixed doubles, Sathish Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath exited after a straight-game loss against Thailand’s Dechapol Puavarankuroh and Supissara Paewsampran. The scoreline read 21-7, 21-12 in favour of the Thai shuttlers, who wrapped up the match in just 25 minutes.

Kidambi Srikanth turned back the clock in spectacular fashion, battling past Japan’s Yushi Tanaka 21-18, 23-21 in a heart-pounding semi-final at the Malaysia Masters on Saturday.

The 32-year-old Indian badminton star, once the world’s best, is now headed to his first BWF World Tour final since 2019—a moment that feels like a triumphant homecoming for fans who’ve cheered him through thick and thin.

Srikanth, who had slipped to world number 82 earlier this month, battled through the qualifiers to reach the main draw of the tournament. Srikanth's journey to the final has been nothing short of inspiring, as he outclassed higher-ranked opponents with a combination of determination and resilience.

Read Also | India’s Next Badminton Superstar: The Rising Stars to Watch in 2025

The tightly contested match against Tanaka saw Srikanth hold his nerve in crunch moments, particularly in the second game, where he edged out a 23-21 victory after a very close finish.

KIDAMBI SRIKANTH HAS DONE IT 🤯🥹

- First BWF Final for him in 6 Year! pic.twitter.com/Op7XhNE5yj

— The Khel India (@TheKhelIndia) May 24, 2025

This achievement marks a significant comeback for the Indian shuttler, who has faced challenges with form and rankings in recent years. His last BWF final appearance was at the 2019 India Open against Viktor Axelsen, and this achievement in Kuala Lumpur signals a potential return to his peak form.

Srikanth will now face either Kodai Naraoka of Japan or China's Li Shi Feng in the final, as he aims to clinch his first title since the 2017 French Open.

I'M CRYING 😭❤️

Srikanth Kidambi Into The Finals Of BWF Malaysia Masters 2025 !!!

Srikanth Kidambi Defeats Yushi Tanaka In Straight Games
🇮🇳 21-18 , 24-22 🇯🇵

Final vs Kodai Naraoka 🇯🇵 / Li Shi Feng 🇨🇳
Goodluck For The Finals Srikanth ❤️✨#MalaysiaMasters2025 pic.twitter.com/jUzvlkPAAV

— Badminton Media (@BadmintonMedia1) May 24, 2025

India's experienced shuttler Kidambi Srikanth on Friday booked his berth in the semi-finals of the Malaysia Masters 2025 badminton tournament. Srikanth is now the only Indian in the tournament.

Also Read: India’s Next Badminton Superstar: The Rising Stars to Watch in 2025

First semi-final in a year

Against world number 65, Srikanth defeated France's 18th seed Toma Junior Popov 24-22, 17-21, 22-20 in a match that lasted one hour and 14 minutes. Former world number one Srikanth will have to overcome the challenge of Japan's Yushi Tanaka to make it to the Malaysia Masters 2025 final. Tanaka defeated Toma Junior's brother Christo Popov 21-18, 16-21, 21-6.

This will be the first semi-final in a year for World Championship and Asian Games silver medalist Srikanth.

Srikanth made inspiring comeback to seal the contest

The Indian badminton player made a brisk start, surging to a 7-4 lead in the opening game, only for Popov to claw his way back. It was the French shuttler who held a game point opportunity at 21-20, but Srikanth turned the tide to snatch the opener.

Srikanth trailed by four points at the break in the second game. He drew level at 15-15 but lost steam as the match went into the decider.

Srikanth was also four points behind his opponent in the third midgame break of the match, but this time, he mounted an inspiring comeback to seal the contest. It was his fourth win over Toma Junior Popov from six meetings.

Also Read: Indian Badminton players struggle with the slow court: Here is why

Kapila-Crasto's journey ends in quarter-finals

In the other semi-final, fourth seed Kodai Naraoka of Japan and second seed Li Shi Feng of China will face each other. In mixed doubles, the journey of the pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto came to an end in the quarter-finals. Kapila and Crasto lost to top seeds Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin of China 22-24, 13-21 in 35 minutes.

PUMA has roped in the Indian Badminton sensation PV Sindhu as its new brand ambassador, partnering in a multi-year deal. 

The German Sports Apparel brand has chosen India as the first country to expand its orbit in the world of sports, marking its official appearance in Badminton. 

Ahead of the announcement, PUMA has executed a pioneering move, changing its brand signage to 'PVMA'  at several official stores in the country for almost a week.

 

 

 

 

 

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PV Sindhu becomes the new brand ambassador of PUMA 

PV Sindhu is undoubtedly one of the greatest Indian badminton icons of this generation, surging the excitement of the game into millions of fans in India. The two-time Olympic medalist has achieved numerous accolades throughout her career, popularizing the game among Indian sports fanatics.

Sindhu has not only become the first Indian to conquer five badminton world championship medals, but also she has earned noteworthy honours such as the Khel Ratna, Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Arjuna Award.

However, Sindhu's unparalleled achievements have injected interest among the youth, and PUMA has adopted the plan to capitalize on the popularity of the 29-year-old. 

According to the Google-Deloitte Think Sports report from 2024, India has a growing fanbase of Badminton, which stands at nearly 57 million. 

PUMA adopted an unprecedented marketing strategy to draw the interest of Indian sports fans, changing their brand name to 'PVMA' in several stores and many billboards across India for almost a week.

This move left the netizens and fans wondering as some speculated the possibility of onboarding PV Sindhu, whereas the partnership has been made official today. 

Many PUMA stores across India have changed their logo and branding to “PVMA”.
This change can be seen in the Indian website as well.

What’s happening? 👀 🚨 pic.twitter.com/ecPbCe2WzW

— sid (@immasiddx) January 11, 2025

However, The partnership between PUMA and Sindhu will debut at the India Open 2025 in New Delhi. This exciting collaboration will bring a high-performance badminton range soon, featuring specialized footwear, apparel, and accessories. 

Sindhu has expressed her elation regarding this move, stating the following.

I’m excited to join the PUMA family, a brand that shares my belief in the power of sport to inspire. This partnership with PUMA India isn’t just about being part of something bigger—it is an opportunity to connect with those who value pushing boundaries and embracing challenges.

“Badminton has always been a platform for growth and self-discovery for me, and through this collaboration, I hope to encourage others, especially women, to take risks, believe in themselves, and strive for more—both on and off the court,

Karthik Balagopalan, Managing Director of PUMA India, said:

PV Sindhu is a legend and a trailblazer, and we are proud & delighted to welcome her into our PUMA family. She is the most followed badminton athlete in the world. Her extraordinary legacy in Indian sports which includes a lot of historic firsts has not only placed India on the badminton map globally but has also inspired millions, pushed the boundaries, and paved the way for future generations of athletes.

“As we make our first-ever step into badminton, this association will further our goal to increase PUMA’s footprint in the rapidly growing sports landscape in the country, inspiring more youngsters to take up the racquet-sport,

On Tuesday, the organizers of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2026 confirmed that only 10 sports will be played in limited venues to keep the finances in check. 

A previously proposed event, that had a minimum of 20 disciplines was reduced to half, which has sparked disappointments amongst many Indians. The reason is quite simple. The Indian-dominated sports like badminton, hockey, cricket, and weightlifting have been axed. 

Not only that, a sport like squash, which gets major highlights in the CWG due to its absence in the Olympics, has been eliminated.

The IOA (Indian Olympics Association) president, PT Usha, too expressed her despondency towards the decision. But, why? 

The point is, how relevant are "Commonwealth Games," previously known as "British Empire Games," in a decolonized era?

The Idea behind Commonwealth Games

A brainchild of revered Canadian sportswriter and editor Melville Marks Robinson, the Commonwealth Games had its origin in 1930, bearing an essence of still-accepted colonialism. A total of 54 countries, who were once colonies of the British Empire, participated in this event.

The 2022 version, however, saw 72 nations participating.

Inspired by the 1911 Inter Empire Championships, this unique event has been hosted across nine countries. Australia and Canada lead with five editions each. 

Standing in 2024, when the phrase "third-world country" seems nonexistent, who would ever succumb to the pre-established boot-licking attitude toward the English, that too spending some billion dollars for hosting?

Finance definitely raises eyebrows, but the motto it has been carrying for so long should come into question, even in countries like India.

U-turn from Australia to Glasgow

Australia, a country that has hosted the event at least five times, has denied hosting it. Initially, it was Victoria's assignment to conduct the event. However, the arrangement costs skyrocketed from an estimated Aus$2 billion to an alarming Aus$7 billion.

Premier Daniel Andrews, in the press conference in Melbourne, clearly stated that he would never dare to pluck in a huge sum from the funds of hospitals and schools for a sporting event. 

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) scrambled to find a replacement, offering Malaysia £100 million to step in. Even with such a hefty financial contribution, Malaysia turned down the offer, citing insufficient preparation time and the prohibitive costs of hosting the event.

Even Canada's Alberta province last year withdrew its support for a bid for the 2030 Games.

Financial Suffering

The rejections have somehow brought in a raw, uncut picture to the world. The sentiments, accompanied by the suffering, take a long time to recover.

Countries are unwilling to foot the massive bill for an event, even when provided with financial assistance. The event brings in little to no economic return and dwindling global interest.

The Commonwealth Games, which seemed like a prestigious event, has been a burden — a relic of the past whose significance is diminishing in a world with far more pressing priorities.

Glasgow steps in

Following the repeated rejections, there was a point when the Commonwealth Games future looked uncertain for the 2026 version. Countries backing out brought clouds of a postponed tournament before its centenary year in 2030.

At that point, Glasgow stepped in. Glasgow had its experience of hosting a CWG, as it did in 2014. This time, it made the event easy.

Glasgow decided to host a severely pared-down version of the CWG in 2026, with 4 venues in an 8-mile radius. Not only that, the number of participants will also be restricted.

Birmingham's Commonwealth Games: A Legacy of Financial Strain?

Birmingham stepped up to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games when Durban withdrew, promising a grand event to boost the city. However, financial issues soon arose, leading to political tension and public concern.

Max Caller, former adviser to Birmingham City Council, called the decision to host the Games "a mistake" amidst longstanding financial problems. Hosting the event diverted attention from the council’s critical issues, including a £760 million bill for equal pay claims and a botched IT system that may cost £100 million to fix.

While the Games were an "amazing event," their financial aftermath sparked debates, with citizens worried about budget cuts affecting essential services. Community centres, libraries, and even the famed German Christmas Market could face closures as the council struggles with bankruptcy.

But is finance the real concern?

India had hosted the 2010 CWG, followed by financial turmoil in the country. It took years for the country to overcome. India has now successfully bid for the Olympics 2036. 

Hosting the Olympics has also led to never-ending financial scars for many countries. Athens is a prominent name in that. 

But yet, countries hardly step back to host it. Is it really the finances or the pride that pushes them to bid for the Olympics?

Will India suffer from the reduction?

In the idealistic world of sport, India shouldn't. In such a situation, the question comes: how relevant is CWG to the sporting world? 

With the rising popularity of the Asian Games that have dominated countries like China and the Olympics, which is the oldest and largest form of multidisciplinary sports event, CWG falls short in both glamour and relevance.

The limited exposure giving year-old consolation to the country with an "international medal" has been falling short repeatedly in the Olympics. The count of CWG medalist athletes who have earned a medal in the Olympics is relatively low. A Mirabai Chanu, a PV Sindhu, or a Neeraj Chopra is countable. 

When at one corner, it is justified to be upset knowing that Indian dominance has been restricted, then at the other corner, another question gets tossed—why does India need going-to-be-abolished events to prove its excellence? 

India, which takes pride in being a sporting excellence and a country that tried to push cricket hard in the Olympics, should think if it's really dominant or not.

Does Commonwealth participation assure greatness?

Usain Bolt, at his peak point in his career, decided to participate only in the 4x100m relay in Glasgow (2014). Not only that, he was nowhere in New Delhi (2010) too, despite India's desperate request to have him.

Sir Chris Hoy, too, stayed away from the Delhi games because a win wouldn't have added any decorated feather to his already stellar career.

In the harshest reality, a hundred medals won't assure at least 50 medals in the Asian Games itself. Olympics are out of reach!

Medal tally for India in CWG, in its popular sport