Commonwealth Games 2014: Indian contingent is ready for the challenge
The 2014 Commonwealth Games are scheduled to take place in Glasgow, Scotland (United Kingdom) from 23 July to 3 August. India has a lot of expectations from these talented athletes to do better than their second position effort in Delhi four years ago. A total of 224 athletes will be part of the Indian contingent going to Glasgow. Let us look at India’s chances in various sporting events.
Shooting
India grabbed 14 gold (30 medals overall) in shooting at the 2010 Delhi Games. The shooting team this year is a mix of youth and experience. Gagan Narang, Abhinav Bindra, Vijay Kumar, Jitu Rai, Manavjeet Sandhu are expected to hit the bull’s eye. In the women’s section, Heena Sidhu is world no. 1 in 10m Air Pistol category. Heena, Malaika Goel and Ayonika Paul are expected to do well. Exclusion of Tejaswani Sawant is upsetting. India will have to stay dominant in all events in order to repeat or better their 2010 performance.
Hockey
India is placed in Pool A with Australia,South Africa,Scotland and Wales. Sardara Singh is leading the side. P R Sreejesh is his deputy. The team will be tested against Australia. Australia are the World champions. India suffered a humiliating defeat in the 2010 Commonwealth Games final in Delhi when they lost 8-0 to Australia. Coach Terry Walsh is confident that the team will bounce back after a lacklustre showing in the World Cup.
The Indian women’s team is on a high after thumping Malaysia in their own backyard. They did not qualify for the World Cup this year, and are eager to perform well at the Games. India are placed in Pool A with Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and Trinidad and Tobago. The team is led by Ritu Rani. Defender Deepika Kumari is confident of a good finish this year. Coach Neil Hawgood is upbeat about the team’s chances.
Boxing
The boxing team consists of a few youngsters this time around. L Devendro Singh (49kg), Shiva Thapa (52kg), Manoj Kumar (64kg), Mandeep Jangra (69kg), Vijender Singh (75kg), Sumit Sangwan (81kg), Dinesh Kumar (91kg) and Praveen More (+91kg) are members of the men’s team. All of them are in good shape heading into the games. Pinki Jangra (51 Kg), Sarita Devi (60 Kg) and Pooja Rani (75 Kg) form the women’s team. Pinki made news when she defeated Mary com in the qualifiers. The team is likely to extend the previous mark of 3 gold and 4 bronze medals in the last edition.
Weightlifting
Ravi Kumar (77 kg) is India’s best bet in men’s weightlifting team. He is also the captain of the contingent. Sanjita Chanu (48 kg) is another prospect for a medal. Last time, India bagged 2 gold,2 silver and 4 bronze in this discipline. A good show is expected from 15 weightlifters.
Athletics
Athletics is called ‘Jewel in the crown’ among all disciplines. Mayookha Johny is a clear favourite to win Gold in the Long jump. She was the first athlete to qualify for Glasgow. Women’s 4x400 meter Relay, Sudha Singh, Ashwini Akunji, and P T Usha’s disciple Tintu Luka are prospects for medals. Seema Antil and Krishna Poonia will compete in Discuss throw, but their best days are behind them. Arpinder Singh recently broke the National record in Triple jump. This Punjab lad’s rivalry with Ranjeet Maheshwari can produce more than one medal in this category. Vikas Gowda, (who finished 8th in London 12 finals) has a good chance of grabbing a Gold medal. Vikas has recently touched 64.9 metres and this Karnataka lad can make history at Scotland in Discuss throw.
Badminton
In Badminton, we can expect for a better performance compared to the 2010 games. Saina recently won the Australian Super Series and positive of a good result in Glasgow. Doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa can repeat the gold winning run. P V Sindhu, P. Kashyap and K.Srikanth have the potential to enrich the tally.
Swimming and Gymnastics
Swimming and Gymnastics were considered a no entry zone for India. Prashant Karmakar won in Para swimming and Ashish Kumar shocked everybody by 2 medals in Vault and Floor in Gymnastics in the last edition. They are part of this squad as well. Allahabad boy Ashish Kumar is in splendid form and has every chance of repeating his 2010 showing. Swimmer Sandeep Sejwal is improving and can win a historic bronze. He has experience of World stage by being the only Indian Swimmer to qualify for London 2012 and FINA World Swimming Championship at Shanghai.
Squash
Saurav Ghosal, Mahesh Mangaonkar, Dipika Pallikal, Joshana Chinappa and Harinder Pal Sandhu are part of the team heading to Glasgow. Saurav and Dipika are medal hopefuls for India.
Archery and Tennis have been scrapped from the games.
261 Gold medals are up for grabs in this edition of the Commonwealth games in 17 sports. In the previous edition, India broke all sorts of records in the medal tally and finished 2nd overall. Crossing the tally of 38-27-36-101 will be the new target. Can this be achieved?
It’s tough but with determination and will, the mission can be accomplished.