Commonwealth Games 2014: Which country will come out on top?
4250 athletes from 71 nations have descended in Glasgow for the 20th edition of the Commonwealth Games. These athletes will battle it out for 1385 medals on offer across 17 sports.
The medal-winning sportspersons will hog the limelight, as always, but there is also their country’s pride at stake.
So which nation will come out on top at the end of the Games? Let us look at some of the contenders.
Australia
Australia are the perennial favourites when it comes to the Commonwealth Games. They have topped the medal tally in the last six editions of the games.
Australia is one of six countries to have participated in all editions of the CWG since its inception in 1930. They have reached the pinnacle as far as the medals are concerned on 12 out of 19 occasions. They have finished in the top three in the remaining games, except 1930.
At the 2010 Delhi Games, Australia ended up with 177 medals, 74 of them gold.
This year, 417 athletes from Down Under will take part in the Games. The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) has estimated a figure of 152 medals for the nation. The ASC has taken into account a decrease in the total number of medal events as well as strong competition from fellow Commonwealth nations for the reduced estimate.
Swimming: A 59-member team will represent Australia in the pool. Alicia Coutts won five gold medals in Delhi, and she will competing in four events in Glasgow. She is accompanied by three World Champions – Cate Campbell, Christian Sprenger and James Magnussen. Australia’s swimmers are expected to win about 55 medals at the Games.
Athletics: Sally Pearson, Kim Mickle,Dani Samuels and Alana Boyd are part of the 102-strong athletics team. A total of 20 medals are estimated from them.
Hockey: The Australian men’s hockey team is coming to Glasgow on a high after winning the World Cup in the Netherlands. They have won gold on four occasions at the Games. The Kookaburras are ranked No. 1in the world, and would be favourites to clinch the yellow metal this time too.
The women’s hockey team have clinched the top honours three times. The Hockeyroos finished second at the World cup last month, and would also be favourites to win it all, along with the men.
Netball: Australia and New Zealand are expected to dominate the proceedings in Glasgow. They have played each other in all four finals so far. New Zealand won the final in Delhi in a nail-biting finish 66-64, in double overtime. It will be interesting to see if Australia can get the better of their neighbours this year.
Rugby Sevens: 16 nations will take part in the sport this year. New Zealand have won gold on all occasions since the introduction of the sport at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Games. Australia are placed alongside England, Srilanka and Uganda in the qualifying group.
Cycling: 41 Aussie athletes will hit the roads in Glasgow. The likes of Simon Clarke, Mark Renshaw, Luke Durbridge and Anna Meares will look to add to the medal tally.
Australia are expected to do well in other sports as well, with several athletes gunning for their first medal.
England
England won 142 medals in Delhi four years ago. They have set a target of about 130-145 medals this time around.
The England chef de mission, Jan Paterson said: “We slid down the medals table in Delhi and we want to make sure that doesn’t happen here in Glasgow. We have set a medals target range of between 130 to 145.”
A 426-member strong contingent will aim to reach that mark for England. The team is expected to have a good showing in Glasgow with the big stage experience of Mo Farah, Sir Bradley Waggins, Laura Trott Tom Daley and others to help them.
“The Commonwealth Games have a really unique place in the sporting landscape,” Paterson said. “It does offer something for all athletes. We have young athletes competing at a Games for the first time and we have athletes who have experience of the Games who know what they are doing in the environment and can help the youngsters.”
Will Sharman is the favourite in the 110 m hurdles. The 29-year-old missed out in a close finish at the Sainsbury’s Anniversary games to Ryan Wilson and Shane Brathwaite. He is confident after his win over World No. 1 Hansle Parchment at Hampden Park last weekend.
Paralympic champion Jonnie Peacock had to settle for second place against Richard Browne. He continues to improve after being out of the game due to injury. Chris Tomlinson is positive of a medal finish at the games after registering a long jump win with 7.94m.
The English contingent will try to better their position in the medal table this year after finishing third in Delhi.
India
India finished second behind Australia in the 2010 Games. The athletes received tremendous home support as they claimed 101 medals which included 38 gold medals. This was by far the best performance by any Indian contingent at the Games.
India are expected to pose a serious threat to other nations in various sporting events. A total of 215 athletes will feature in 14 of the 17 disciplines on offer in Glasgow. Netball, Rugby Sevens and Triathlon will not see any participation from India.
Athletics
32 athletes are part of the athletics team. Vikas Gowda is hopeful of a strong outing in discus throw this year, having won silver at the 2010 Delhi Games. Gowda won gold at the Asian Championships in Pune last year and the Mysore lad will look for gold in Glasgow.
The likes of Krishna Poonia, Ashwini Akkunji Poovamma are the other medal contenders.
Badminton
With Saina Nehwal pulling out of the games, all hopes are on P V Sindhu to win the gold in the singles event. Sindhu is ranked World No. 11 and is expected to get the top seeding in Glasgow.
The pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa will aim to repeat their 2010 Delhi performance where they won gold. It will be interesting to see how Parupalli Kashyap and Kadambi Srikanth handle the pressure in the men’s singles.
Boxing
The boxing contingent has a mix of youth and experience. While youngsters Devendro Singh, Shiva Thapa will look to impress in their first appearance at the games, veterans Manoj Kumar, Sumit Sangwan and Vijender Singh are waiting to pack a punch on the big stage.
In the women’s section, Pinki Jangra, Sarita Devi and Pooja Rani will try to create history as women’s boxing in introduced for the first time at the Commonwealth games.
Hockey
The Indian men’s hockey team had a dreadful time at the World Cup recently, finishing in the 9th place. They won silver in Delhi four years ago after suffering an humiliating 0-8 loss to Australia in the final. But Chief Coach Terry Walsh and Captain Sardara Singh are optimistic of a turnaround in Glasgow.
The Indian women’s team did not qualify for the World Cup this year, but their preparations for the Commonwealth Games were not hindered as they trounced Malaysia in all six games on their own turf .
Shooting
The largest chunk of medals won by India in 2010 Delhi games was from shooting. However, there are fewer events this time around. Abhinav Bindra, Gagan Narang, Vijay Kumar, Jitu Rai, Heena Sidhu, Ayonika Paul and Malaika Goel are the favourites to win medals.
Wrestling
Indian team is bolstered by the return of Yogeshwar Dutt and Sushil Kumar after an injury layoff. India won 19 medals in the sport in 2010 Delhi games, and they will look to better that in Glasgow.
Squash, table tennis and weightlifting
Saurav Ghosal and Dipika Pallikal are India’s brightest hopes as far as squash is concerned. Achanta Sharat Kamal is positive of a medal in table tennis. Meanwhile, Ravi Kumar Katulu won gold in weightlifting four years ago in the 69 kg category, and will look to repeat his performance this year.
It remains to be seen if India can live up to their 2010 Delhi performance in unfamiliar conditions at Glasgow.
Canada
A total of 265 Canadian athletes will compete in this year’s Commonwealth Games. Canada had finished fourth in Delhi in the 2010 games, and they will participate in 16 of the 17 sports this time, with netball being the only exception.
The 2013 World championship medallists Brianne Thiesen-Eaton (heptathlon), Damian Warner (decathlon) and Derek Drouin (high jump Olympic bronze medallist) form a strong track and field team. Josh Cassidy will compete in the para-sport 1500m.
The likes of Ryan Cochrane, Meaghan Benfito, Roseline Filion, Jennifer Abel and Pamela Ware are part of the swimming team.
“Canada has fielded a very strong team for these 2014 Games, and we are targeting a top three finish among all nations competing here," said Scott Stevenson, Commonwealth Games Canada's director of sport, in a release.
It will be a battle for the top spot between these four nations. Australia are looking like firm favourites to make it seven in a row.
The results will be known on August 3rd.