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Finally, the first day of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022 is upon us, and the opening ceremony will kick off the event in a grand fashion. However, India’s campaign will commence on 30 July, with Nitender Rawat competing in the Men’s Marathon.
In a media interaction, the former Indian Tennis player, Somdev Devvarman has put his views on the medal count of the Indian contingent. He thinks it will be tough for Table-Tennis star Manika Batra to replicate the same performance as in the last edition.
In 2018, Batra had herself bagged four medals, including gold in the singles event. Overall, the game of Table Tennis fetched 8 medals for India.
"It's not going to be easy at all. Manika had 4 medals herself. It'll be a massive effort. It's one thing to come out here and win 4 medals and then 4 years later, come back and repeat the feat," Somdev said as per an article carried out by The Bridge.
PV Sindhu is a clear favourite: Somdev Devvarman
Devvarman, gold-medalist of the 2010 edition of CWG thinks the title-winning performance in Singapore Open will keep PV Sindhu in good stead ahead of the show-piece event. In the 2018 event, Saina Nehwal had beaten Sindhu to secure a yellow medal in the women's singles.
"PV Sindhu will go in as a clear favourite, she already has a bronze and a silver from the past two CWGs, aside from gold from the mixed team event.
However, the former player has hoped that the Indian contingent will pass the medal tally of 66, which it registered in the previous edition of the Games. India’s best-ever performance of 101 medals in the CWG was witnessed in the 2010 edition played in Delhi.
"India has shown consistent performance in racquet sports over the years, and we hope to see this momentum grow. The recent achievements of PV Sindhu and Manika Batra are the perfect example of this. With a strong Indian contingent taking charge and representing the nation across all disciplines at Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, I am hopeful that India will surpass the 66-medal tally registered during the 2018 Commonwealth Games," said Devvarman.
Devvarman will joining the broadcast of Sony Sports Network's SPORTS EXTRAAA show with the former India hockey captain Viren Rasquinha, former India badminton player Trupti Murgunde, and cricketer Veda Krishnamurthy.