Birmingham Commonwealth Games: How many medals has India won in badminton at the Commonwealth Games?

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The 22nd edition of the Commonwealth Games is just days away and the teams across different categories have started gearing up already. India are also readying themselves for an improved performance from last year and badminton is one sport everyone will have their hopes pinned on as it has yielded quite a few medals for the country at the quadrennial event.

India have won a total of 25 medals in badminton at the Commonwealth Games including 7 Gold, 7 Silver, and 11 Bronze. Badminton is the sports India have consistently performed in and after the famous Thomas and Uber Cup victory over favourites Malaysia, the hopes will be really high from the Indian contingent.

The teams (Men’s and Women’s) have been announced and both look like solid teams with World Championship silver medalist Kidambi Srikanth leading the Men’s team and two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu leading the women’s team.

As the whole nation looks forward to the performance of the Indian badminton players, here is how they have fared so far in the quadrennial event over the years.

1966 Kingston Games

The only medal that came India’s way at the 8th edition of the Commonwealth Games where badminton was played for the first time was won by Dinesh Khanna. The India shuttler had defeated Scotsman McCoig in the bronze medal match with a score-line of 15-7, 15-8. Meanwhile, Nandu Natekar and Suresh Goyal had crashed out before the semifinals.

1970 Edinburgh Games

Suresh Goyal who had come to the last-eight stage at the 1966 games won the bronze medal in the ninth edition by defeating English shuttler Ray Sharp in straight games of 15-9, 15-12.

1978 Edmonton Games

The first gold medal in badminton came in the eleventh edition of the quadrennial event and it was won by none other than the great Prakash Padukone. The India shuttler was way too good for his opponents as he had won the final match in straight games of 15-0, 15-1. The second medal of the edition was won by the women's doubles pair of Ami Ghia and Kanwal Thakur Singh who secured a bronze and became the first Indian woman shuttlers to bag a CWG medal.

1982 Brisbane Games

In the absence of Prakash Padukone, it was Syed Modi who took the onus to bring the gold medal in the twelfth edition of CWG. Modi won gold by beating Nick Yates 7-15, 15-6, 15-5 in the finals. However, the women’s doubles pair of Ami Ghia and Kanwal Thakur could not repeat their heroics from the last edition and lost the bronze medal match.

1998 Kuala Lumpur Games

After a 16-year hiatus, the Indian contingent returned to Commonwealth Games to register their best performance so far by winning one bronze medal and one silver medal. While Pullela Gopichand won Bronze in Men's single, Aparna Popat lost the gold medal game to Kelly Morgan to secure silver in women's singles.

2002 Manchester Games

Aparna Popat could not repeat her heroics from 1998 but she ensured India get a medal by winning the bronze medal in the women’s single category.

2006 Melbourne Games

In the eighteenth edition of the Commonwealth Games, the Indian badminton team brought two bronze medals. Chetan Anand bettered Aamir Ghaffar in the men's singles bronze medal match to win the first medal for India. Meanwhile, the mixed team defeated New Zealand in the bronze medal match to bring the second bronze medal.

2010 Delhi Games

India got to host the Commonwealth Games for the first time and the Indian badminton team did not disappoint the home crowd at all as they secured a total of four medals including two gold medals for the first time. Saina Nehwal won the gold medal in the women’s singles category and became the first Indian woman to do so. She was followed by the women’s double pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa who also won gold.

The other two medals were won by Parupalli Kashyap and the mixed team. While Kashyap won the bronze medal in the men’s singles category, the mixed team lost to Malaysia in the finals to secure silver.

2014 Glasgow Games

2014 was another dominating performance from India in badminton as they secured four medals yet again. P Kashyap bettered himself from the last edition and won the gold medal in the Men’s Singles category while Gurusai Dutt won the bronze medal. Young Women’s Singles player PV Sindhu won the bronze medal to take India’s medal tally to three. Meanwhile, the women’s doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa brought a sliver.

2018 Gold Coast Games

The latest edition of the Commonwealth Games saw India putting on their best show ever as they won as many as six medals including two gold, three silver, and one bronze. The mixed team beat Malaysia to win the first-ever gold in that category. Kidambi Srikanth won the silver medal in the men’s singles category.

PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal won gold and silver respectively in an all-India final. The men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty scripted history by winning the first-ever CWG medal. They won the sliver. The only bronze medal was won by the women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponappa and N Sikki Reddy.