Commonwealth Games 2022 Review: Wrestlers sweep the board

Each grappler from the country came home with a medal from the multi-sport event.

The 2022 Commonwealth Games campaign was very successful for the Indian contingent. Due to the sensational performances from the athletes in various disciplines, India finished fourth in the medal tally after winning 61 total medals. From the total count, there were 22 golds, 16 silvers and 23 bronze medals. One of the biggest sources of medals was the sport of wrestling where Indians were heavily impressive.

There were 12 members in the wrestling squad and each one of them won a medal in their respective category. India was the best nation in wrestling by the end of the 2022 CWG with a total haul of 12 medals.

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The wrestling squad won six golds, one silver and five bronze medals to conclude a sensational outing in Birmingham. It was also the highest count that the Indian contingent won from a single discipline at the quadrennial event.

However, there is more potential in the wrestlers and recent performances in multi-sport events are very encouraging. Here is a review of Indian wrestling performance at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham:

Positives

There was a lot to celebrate looking at the wrestling performance by the Indians at the 2022 CWG. A total of six gold medals won in a dominant fashion showcased India’s stronghold in the sport. Bajrang Punia won gold in the men’s 65kg category. The first Indian female wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics, Sakshi Malik won gold in the women’s 62kg bracket.

Deepak Punia was sensational on his way to winning gold in the men’s 62kg category. Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Ravi Dahiya was in a league of his own and won the gold in men’s 57kg. Naveen Malik also returned home with gold around his neck after winning it in the men’s 74kg category.

Last but not the least, Vinesh Phogat was impressive and unstoppable on her way to winning her third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold, as she won the women’s 53kg bracket with ease.

Negatives

It is a difficult task to find negatives in a performance like the Indian wrestlers delivered at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The only disappointment was the inability to win all 12 golds that were on offer. Indian wrestlers, thanks to their lofty standards will certainly not be satisfied by the one silver and five bronze medals.

Divya Kakran, Mohit Grewal, Pooja Gehlot, Pooja Sihag and Deepak Nehra won bronze medals in their respective categories for India. Making it onto the podium required incredible effort and they missed out on gold or silver only by a whisker. They would take this experience as an opportunity to improve on their weaknesses and polish their display in future.

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Other Notable Performances

Anshu Malik was one of the wrestlers that caught the eye at the 2022 CWG in Birmingham. The 21-year-old youngster won silver in the women’s 57kg category. She is a World Championships silver medallist from the 2021 edition and won her maiden CWG medal in 2022. 

Coming from a wrestling background, Indian wrestling fans will certainly see more of Anshu Malik in future. She was ever so close to winning gold in her maiden CWG outing, but had to settle for silver in the end. Having said that, the three-time Asian Championships medalist is one to watch out for. 

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Conclusion

Wrestling was expected to be one of the disciplines that would contribute a large number of medals to the Indian tally. However, few would have expected to score a perfect 12 out of 12. Another major achievement from the wrestling squad was that eight out of 12 medal winners were debutants at the Commonwealth Games.

However, there are bigger challenges in store for the Indian wrestlers. Asian Games, World Championships and the upcoming Olympics will pose a much stronger challenge for Indian wrestlers. It will be tougher to win medals at those events. Having said that, the performance at the 2022 CWG in Birmingham is very encouraging and one that will inspire thousands of budding wrestlers in India.

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