All you need to know about Wrestling at the Commonwealth Games

The discipline is one of India’s strongholds at the multi-sport event.

Commonwealth Games are one of the most prestigious multi-sport meets in the world. The 2022 edition will take place in the city of Birmingham, England from 28 July 2022 onwards. India will be one of the participating nations and it is sending a 215-member athlete contingent across 16 disciplines. From those disciplines, wrestling will hopefully be one of the main sources of medals.

The sport of wrestling has been part of the Commonwealth Games since 1930. Today, it is one of the major disciplines that sees heavy representation from many countries. It was not part of the 2006 edition that took place in Manchester but made a comeback in 2010 Delhi and will be a part of the 2022 Birmingham Games.

Canada, India, Pakistan, Australia and South Africa are some of the leading nations when it comes to winning wrestling medals at the Commonwealth Games. The competition for medals will be intense at the 2022 edition as well. On that note, here is all you need to know about wrestling at the Commonwealth Games, its history and what to expect:

History

Wrestling has been part of the Commonwealth Games since the inaugural edition. It sees heavy representation, particularly from Asian countries. When it comes to the leading nation in terms of winning medals in this discipline, then Canada is the all-time leader with 66 golds, 43 silvers and 26 bronze medals. Only two countries (Canada and India) have won more than a century of total medals in this discipline across history.

Wrestling at the 2022 Commonwealth Games

The upcoming CWG in Birmingham will see wrestling’s inclusion for the 19th time. There are twelve weight categories in total. The wrestling bouts will take place on 5 August and 6 August as per the scheduling at the Coventry Arena. There are 12 golds, 12 silvers and 24 bronze medals up for grabs. 

Indian Contingent

Wrestling is the third-best discipline when it comes to Indian athletes winning medals at the Commonwealth Games. India has won 43 golds, 37 silvers and 22 bronze medals, taking the total tally to 102 medals. It is only the third discipline where the Indians have won more than a century of medals behind shooting and weightlifting. 

For the 2022 edition, India will send a 12-person strong squad with an aim to improve on the five golds, three silvers and four bronze medals they won last time in 2018. Here is the squad for both men and women categories:

Men's Wrestling Squad: 

Freestyle: Ravi Kumar Dahiya (57 kg), Bajrang Punia (65 kg), Naveen (74 kg), Deepak Punia (86 kg), Deepak (97 kg), and Mohit Grewal (125 kg)

Women's Wrestling Squad: 

Pooja Gehlot (50 kg), Vinesh Phogat (53 kg), Anshu Malik (57 kg), Sakshi Malik (62 kg), Divya Kakran (68 kg), Pooja Sihag (76 kg)

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics medallists Bajrang Punia and Ravi Kumar Dahiya will be competing in the freestyle 65 kg category and the 57 kg category respectively. There will be high hopes from them to deliver a gold medal. In the women’s team, Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat, playing in the 62kg and 53 kg category respectively will hope to deliver gold medals as well.

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