India is expected to win dozens of medals at the Birmingham CWG. But how does the level of competition weigh up against the Asian Games?

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With the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games being limited-field events in some respects –due to history and geography respectively – there are sports in which medals are tougher to earn at one stage than the other. Some sports feature world champions at the CWG, while some others have Asian powerhouses. As such, the Indian medal hauls in the same sport at the two events can vary considerably. A look at what the Indian contingent can expect to encounter in various sports at the two Games:

Athletics: Champs in Asia, strugglers at CWG

Neeraj Chopra Neeraj Chopra won a silver at the World Athletics Championship 2022. (Neeraj Chopra/Instagram)

On the Asian circuit, Indians have done well with China and Japan being the only other major medal contenders. Indians have amassed 254 medals so far at the Asian Games with 38 percent of participants finishing on the podium in the last edition – the 2018 Jakarta Games.

But it’s a different ball game altogether at the Commonwealth Games with top contenders like Australia, Canada and England, just to name a few, entering the picture. India has just 28 medals at CWG. For Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, the CWG is virtually a replay of the World Championships with another face-off with Grenada’s Anderson Peters awaiting him in Birmingham.

Boxing: Average at both events

Amit PanghalAmit Panghal Amit Panghal

India’s position in the all-time medal tally in boxing at the CWG and Asian Games does not see much difference. The country is placed 10th with a total of 37 medals in the CWG and eighth at the Asian Games with 57 medals. But significantly, most of India’s success at the Asian Games came in the late 1980s and 1990s. While the Indian boxers have won eight gold medals at the Commonwealth Games, where England leads the all-time medal tally with 60 gold, India has won nine gold medals at the Asian Games. However, at the 2018 edition, Indian boxers won only two medals – Amit Panghal’s gold and Vikas Krishan Yadav’s bronze.

But from the CWG the same year, the boxers returned with nine medals including three gold, three silver and three bronze medals, including two medals in women’s boxing. While the Indian boxers have to face counterparts from countries like England, Canada, Scotland and Northern Ireland in CWG, the main challenge at the Asian level comes from boxing powerhouses like South Korea, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

Gymnastics: Eyeing a perfect landing

Pranati NayakPranati Nayak Pranati Nayak (Express Illustration)

Be it the Commonwealth Games or the Asian Games – India has only recently started to make its presence felt. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, Ashish Kumar won a silver and a bronze medal – the country’s first-ever in a major competition. That was followed by a bronze by Dipa Karmakar in the 2014 edition at Glasgow.
Since then, Indian gymnasts have not won a single medal at the Commonwealth or Asian Games. Karmakar was fourth in the vault event at the Asian Games in 2014 and didn’t make an appearance in 2018.

At the 2022 Birmingham Games, England and Canada are expected to dominate. For India, 27-year-old Pranati Nayak, a two-time Asian Championship bronze medallist, will spearhead the contingent. She finished 20th at the 2014 CWG and eighth in the 2018 edition in the individual section.

Hockey: Own goals galore

Indian hockey teamIndian hockey team The Manpreet Singh-led Indian team won the bronze in Tokyo Games earlier this year to end a 41-year medal wait for the country. (File)

At the Asian Games, the men have often choked under pressure, as seen in the last edition in 2018. India are head and shoulders above the rest of the continental teams, evidenced by the fact that they are almost always the only Asian side pushing for medals at major global events. Yet, their superiority hasn’t always reflected on the field, where they’ve lost out due to silly mistakes at crucial junctures.

In contrast, their failure to win the gold medal at the CWG is largely because of one team – Australia, who have won the title in every edition. Hockey at CWG has always been competitive due to the presence of England and New Zealand, apart from Australia, with Pakistan, Malaysia, Canada and South Africa having the ability to spring a surprise.

The women have been on an upward curve in both events and even though they haven’t come close to matching the gold at the 2002 CWG, they reached their first Asian Games final after 20 years in the last edition, losing narrowly to Japan. They’ll fancy their chances at the next Asian Games but the CWG could remain a step too far, given how strong Australia and England are.

Weightlifting: 125 medals at CWG, 14 at Asiad

Mirabai ChanuMirabai Chanu Olympics medallist Mirabai Chanu. (File)

The contrast in the competition in weightlifting between the CWG and Asian Games can be gauged from the fact that India comes second with 125 medals, including 43 gold, behind Australia’s medal tally of 159 medals in the all-time medal list of the CWG while it has won only 14 medals – five silver and nine bronze – in the history of the Asian Games.

The last time an Indian weightlifter won a medal at the Asian Games was in 1998 when Karnam Malleswari won silver in women’s 63 Kg category while at the last Commonwealth Games in 2018, India topped the medal tally in the sport with a total of nine medals including five gold.

The main reason for disparity is that powerhouses like China, Iran, South Korea, Japan, North Korea, Kazakhstan and Chinese Taipei dominate the Asian Games which feature several world champions. Come Birmingham, Indian weightlifters are expected to dominate before reality hits them at next year’s Asian Games with perhaps the exception of Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Mirabai Chanu.

Table Tennis: Living in China’s shadow

Manika Batra, table tennisManika Batra, table tennis Manika Batra (File)

The Chinese are the most dominant force in table tennis, which makes the Asian Games a tough nut to crack. India have won 20 medals in table tennis since the sport was introduced at the CWG in 2002 while they’ve won just two bronze at the Asian Games so far. India are 11th in the table tennis medal tally at the Asian Games, while they are third behind Singapore (50) and England (20) at the CWG.

Gold Coast 2018 was India’s best-ever show at the CWG with eight medals. Manika Batra was the star of the show, winning gold in the women’s singles, silver in women’s doubles partnering Mouma Das and bronze in the mixed doubles with G Sathiyan. Both the men’s and women’s team won gold in the team event.

Wrestling: Laggards in Asia, leaders at CWG

Bajrang Punia, Birmingham Commonwealth Games, Sports Authority of India, Tokyo Olympics, Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Deepak Punia, Target Olympic Podium Scheme, Indian Express, NewsBajrang Punia, Birmingham Commonwealth Games, Sports Authority of India, Tokyo Olympics, Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Deepak Punia, Target Olympic Podium Scheme, Indian Express, News Indian star wrestler Bajrang Punia. (File)

At the Commonwealth Games, India sits pretty in the second position behind Canada, winning a total of 102 medals including 43 gold. When it comes to the Asian Games, the situation changes dramatically – 59 medals overall and only 11 gold.

For Indian wrestlers, the selection trials to get into the CWG squad are tougher than competing at the Games themselves, where since 1970, Indians and Canadians have dominated the event. The fight for gold across categories is largely between these two countries, while Nigeria has given the Indians a tough fight in some women’s weight classes.

At the Asiad, Indians have been in Iran’s shadow, with South Korea being dominant in men while Japan in women. When Yogeshwar Dutt won gold in 2014, it was for the first time in 28 years that an Indian wrestler finished on top of the podium at the Asian Games. In 2018, Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat won titles in their categories, a rare occasion when India finished with two gold medals.

Squash: Better at CWG than Asian Games

Dipika PallikalDipika Pallikal Dipika Pallikal clinched a bronze medal in women’s singles squash at Asian Games 2018 on August 25. She lost her semifinal match against the defending champion from Malaysia, Nicol Ann David. (Source: Twitter/@DipikaPallikal)

 

Squash is one of the few sports where India has done better at the Asian Games as compared to the Commonwealth Games.

India has won a total of 13 medals at the Asian Games (1 gold, 3 silver and 9 bronze). In men’s singles, Saurav Ghosal has won one silver and three bronze medals so far. India’s only gold was won by the men’s team at the 2014 Incheon Games.

It’s different at the Commonwealth Games where India has won just three medals (1 gold and 2 silver).
India has yet to medal in the singles event, though the women’s doubles pair of Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa scripted history by winning gold in 2014. They followed it up with a silver in 2018.

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