Commonwealth Games 2022 Review: Badminton stars deliver big

The shuttlers came home with six medals in total from the multi-sport event.

The 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham were a success for the Indian contingent. Following a valiant effort by the athletes, India won 61 medals in total having 22 gold, 16 silver and 23 bronze medals. Out of that total, the shuttlers won six, including three gold medals. The overall performance by the badminton stars was praiseworthy, but there were a few misses despite the hits.

Badminton was one of the firm hopes of delivering lots of medals for India at the Commonwealth Games. With stars like P.V. Sindhu and Lakshya Sen among others part of the squad, there was an air of positivity before the quadrennial event began in Birmingham.

India won medals in both women’s and men’s singles categories, which was a major achievement for the nation. However, there were a few disappointments as well that the shuttlers would need to work on. Here is a review of Indian badminton performance at the 2022 Commonwealth Games:

Positives

Indian badminton players won a lot of hearts of the spectators in attendance and digital viewers across the globe. P.V. Sindhu was exquisite and won her first-ever Commonwealth Games gold, after winning a bronze and a silver in the earlier two attempts. Despite sustaining a stress fracture in the quarter-finals, the two-time Olympic medalist powered her way to winning gold.

Lakshya Sen was mesmerizing in his performance at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. He won a maiden gold medal in the men’s singles category by beating Malaysia’s Ng Tze Yong 19-21, 21-9, 21-16 in an epic final. Only three Indian athletes have won gold in the men’s singles category - Prakash Padukone (1978), Syed Modi (1982) and Parupalli Kashyap (2014). He also won a silver medal in the mixed team category where India lost in the final to Malaysia.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were at their best in the men’s doubles category. The duo were unstoppable and won gold in the category without dropping a single game. It was the first occasion when India won gold in the men’s doubles. In the process of writing their name in the history books, the duo, who were integral in helping India win the Thomas Cup earlier in 2022, beat Ben Lane and Sean Vendy of England by 21-15, 21-13 in the gold medal match.

Negatives

While Indian badminton players did have an impressive overall performance, there were a few areas where they were underwhelming. Sumeeth Reddy and Ashwini Ponappa lost their first-round contest in the mixed doubles category to the English pair of Callum Hemming and Jessica Pugh by an 18–21, 16–21 score. 

The Indian squad in the mixed team event were favourites to win gold. Furthermore, India was the defending champions after winning gold in this category at the 2018 edition of the CWG on the Gold Coast, Australia. The performance in the final against Malaysia left a lot to be desired and smacked of complacency. 

Other Notable Performances

Kidambi Srikanth was one of the Indian badminton players who was a strong medal hope. He won bronze in the men’s singles category and shared the podium with gold medal winner Lakshya Sen. He could have set up an all-Indian final, but lost in the semi-final to Ng Tze Yong. However, a win in the bronze medal match against Jason Teh of Singapore was an ideal consolation.

Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly made a lot of headlines after winning bronze in the women’s doubles category. They beat Australia’s Gronya Somerville and Wendy Hsuan-Yu Chen 21-15, and 21-18 in the bronze medal match. Their performance was an indicator of good things to come from the pair. 

Conclusion

Indian badminton stars were solid in their performances and carried the expectations on their shoulders well. Being one of the favourites to win multiple medals in various categories, the shuttlers did not let the expectations get the better of them. Players like P.V. Sindhu, Lakshya Sen and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty won gold and proved their mettle.

There were encouraging performances from the likes of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly. Despite a disappointing end to the mixed team event, the Indian squad won a silver at the very least. Judging by the overall display in badminton at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, one can expect more medals from the shuttlers in other multi-sport events.

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