CWG 2022 Day 1 Preview: Women's hockey team, Manika Batra in action

The competition will see the Indian contingent competing in three medal events.

The wait is finally over as Day One of the much-awaited Commonwealth Games will witness some of the most iconic clashes in various disciplines, including Badminton, Hockey, Table Tennis, and Lawn Bowl, to name a few. Several Indian stars who are promising medal winners will look to begin their campaign on a high.

Badminton

India and Pakistan will face off against each other in the mixed team group match of Badminton on Day One of the Commonwealth Games 2022. India won the gold medal in the mixed team event in the previous edition of the Games at the Gold Coast in 2018, and they will be looking to repeat that historic feat. PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth, Ashwini Ponappa, and the young gun Lakshya Sen headline the Indian squad, while Pakistan has only four members in their Badminton contingent.

In the previous edition, India comfortably won the mixed event against Pakistan 5-0. In fact, none of the games went into the third set. A similar result is expected from the champions this time as well.

Boxing

Several Indian boxers will compete on Day One of the Games, including Shiva Thapa, Sumit Kundu, Rohit Tokas, and Ashish Chaudhary. Shiva will begin his campaign in the 63.5 kg category, which is scheduled to take place at 4:30 PM IST. Sumit Kundu, on the other hand, will play at the same time in the 75 kg category.

Rohit Tokas, who failed to qualify in the last two editions of the Commonwealth Games, is set to roar this time and will compete in the 67 kg category. His match will take place at 11:00 PM IST along with Ashish Chaudhary, who will be competing in a different ring in the 80 kg category.

Cricket: India to take on Australia in Group A match

It is going to be the first time that a women’s cricket event will be taking place in the Commonwealth Games. It is going to be in the T20 format and will be held at the iconic Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham. Harmanpreet Kaur, India's pride, would be looking to end this challenge with a victory along with the support of her experienced teammates, including Smriti Mandhana, Shefali Verma, Harleen Deol, and Rajeshwari Gayakwad, to name a few.

Hockey: India, Ghana look to set the tone in the opening game

The Indian women’s team will play against Ghana in Pool A opening match. After their tough run at the recent Hockey World Cup, they will be looking to leave no stone unturned this time. Captain Savita Punia is confident of a great show against Ghana, which is going to be a tough opponent for India. India needs to play their A game and needs to take one match at a time. The match against Ghana will start at 6:30 PM IST.

Table Tennis: Manika Batra, Sharath Kamal in action on Day 1

Table Tennis is one of the events where the medal hopes for India are high. Day One of the Commonwealth Games will witness both qualifying rounds One and Two for men’s and women’s respectively. Star players like Manika Batra and Sharath Kamal will be looking to clear this stage with their extraordinary skills. Men’s team qualifying round 1 will start at 2:00 PM IST along with women’s team qualifying round 1. Both men’s and women’s qualifying round 2 will take place at 8:30 PM IST.

Squash

Squash will also be played on Day One of the Games, and India is set to break the squash singles jinx in Birmingham. Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa will make their best effort to break the jinx in singles. The trio of Dipika Pallikal, Saurav Ghosal, and Joshna Chinappa have been carrying the burden on their shoulders for the last 15 years, and this would be looking to end the drought. Indian players have managed to win only three medals so far since the inclusion of Squash in the Commonwealth Games in 1998.

Artistic Gymnastics

Men’s individual and team qualification round will begin at 1:30 PM IST, including some of India’s best in the business; Yogeshwar Singh, Satyajit Mondal, and Saif Tamboli. If they qualified for the finals, then they would be competing for the medal on the same day at 10:30 PM IST. A medal in Gymnastics has always been a dream come true for India. It would be historic if they could bring one at least.

Swimming

Several Indian participants are set to compete in the Swimming event starting on Day One of the Commonwealth Games 2022. The likes of Kushagra Rawat, Srihari Nataraj, Sajan Prakash, and Ashish Kumar Singh will begin with their respective Heats. They will compete on the same day in the finals if they qualify, later at night.

Lawn Bowls

Almost every category of Lawn Bowl will take place on Day 1 of the CWG Games 2022. With Nayanmoni Saikia set to play her singles, Dinesh Kumar, Navneet Singh, and Chandan Kumar Singh will be playing in men’s triples. Both the matches will take place at 1:00 PM IST.

Round One of the men’s pair round will also take place on the same day at 7:30 PM IST. This will include Sunil Bahadur and Mridul Borgohain. On the other hand, Rupa Rani Tirkey, Lovely Choubey, and Tania Choudhary will play their Four round at the same time.

Triathlon

Four participants were in the Indian Triathlon contingent, and each one of them will compete on an opening day. The event will begin at 3:30 PM IST. The race will start with a swim, moving on to the cycling and then a long run to end the proceedings. The triathlon will make its third successive appearance at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.

Track Cycling

Indian Cyclers would be right up there on the opening day of the event. Vishvajeet Singh, Naman Kapil, Venkappa Shivappa Kengalugutti, Dinesh Kumar, and Annantha Naryanan will compete in the men's team pursuit qualification round, while Mayuri Dhanraj Lute, Shushikala Agashe, and Triyasha Paul will compete in the women's team sprint qualification round. Both these events will begin at 2:30 PM IST. If qualified, they will be competing on the same day at 8:30 PM IST.