What an action-packed event tournament the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham turned out to be. Like with every major sporting event, there were some hits while some flops. Some rivalries were worth the hype and others did not do justice to the build-up. As has been the trend, it was Australia who once again topped the medals tally with a total of _ medals while India finished fourth.
In this article, we will have a look at 5 of the biggest hits at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.
1. Lakshya Sen
At the top of the list is yet to turn 21, ace Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen. The star Indian badminton player did not lose a match across events and played his role to perfection in the mixed team's event and also going on to win the gold medal in the men's singles final. He was the top-seed and played like a champion player coming out on top in the gold medal match despite losing the opening game. With age on his side and Sen already having proven himself in big events, a medal in Paris 2024 seems like a reasonable possibility for Sen.
2. Achanta Sharath Kamal
What a legend of the sport Achanta Sharath Kamal is. While he won the gold medal in the Commonwealth Games way back in 2006 in the men's singles category, he played some of the finest table tennis of his career 16 years later at the Birmingham Games. He finished the event not with one but 4 medals including 3 golds which came in men's singles, the mixed doubles and the men's team event. His silver medal came in the Men's doubles where he partnered G Sathiyan.
3. Arshad Nadeem
Probably the biggest talking point from the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham would be Pakistan's ace javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem. In absence of India's Neeraj Chopra, who had to miss out owing to an injury, all eyes were on Anderson Peters. However, it was Arshad who clinched the gold medal.
More than the gold, it was the distance that his javelin travelled that has caught the attention of the sporting world. Nadeem's 90.17 m throw ensured Pakistan a gold which is better than the distance Neeraj had clocked to win the Tokyo Olympic Gold medal and the World Athletics Championship silver medal.
On both these occasions, Nadeem had remained behind Chopra. However, this time around, Nadeem took a giant leap to breach the 90m mark which Chopra has stated as his personal ambition but hasn't managed even once in his career.
4. Avinash Sable
Avinash Sable's is the story that will remain with many sports fans long after the Commonwealth Games 2022 is over. The Steeplechase was one sport that was dominated by the Kenyans. In the 2022 CWG too, three Kenyans were setting up the pace for him and while everyone thought it was once again going to be all Kenya at the podium, the Kenyan athletes did not have the usual Ethoipians or Moroccan as their competitors but it was India's Sable who was determined to break their utter dominance in the sport.
Sable ensured that Kenya do not complete a clean sweep at the steeplechase in Commonwealth Games as he clinched the silver medal for India.
5. Lovely Choubey, Pinki Singh, Nayanmoni Saikia and Rupa Rani Tirkey
Women's Fours Lawn Bowls gold was another massive moment for India at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham. The Indian team comprising of Lovely Choubey (lead), Pinki (second), Nayanmoni Saikia (third) and Rupa Rani Tirkey (slip) defeated South Africa 17-10 in the women's fours final to win a historic gold.
The effort was special since it was India’s maiden final appearance in the women’s fours format of the Commonwealth Games and India started with a gold which was a followed by a silver medal won by the men's fours team settled for a silver after losing to Northern Ireland in the final here on Saturday.