Current Affairs PDF

Highlights: XXII Commonwealth Games or Birmingham 2022 Held from July 28, 2022 to August 8, 2022

AffairsCloud YouTube Channel - Click Here

AffairsCloud APP Click Here

The XXII Caommonwealth Games or Birmingham 2022

The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games (CWG) or Birmingham 2022 was held at Birmingham, England (United Kingdom) from July 28 to August 8, 2022. It was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations. The Games were declared open by Charles, Prince of Wales.

i.England hosted this event for the 3rd time after London 1934 and Manchester 2002.

ii.The UK hosted this for the 7th time after London and Manchester, Cardiff 1958, Edinburgh 1970 and 1986 and Glasgow 2014.

iii.It was the first major international multi-sports event that was integrated, meaning para and non-para games were held at the same time.

iv.Also, it was the first games to host more women’s gold medals than men’s.

v.The previous CWG 2018 was held in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia between April 4-15, 2018.

Organizers:

It was organized by the Birmingham Organising Committee for the 2022 Commonwealth Games (BOCCG). It was jointly established by the UK Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Birmingham City Council and the Commonwealth Games England and was structured as a private company limited by guarantee.

  •         It is headquartered at One Brindleyplace, Birmingham.

First carbon neutral CWG:

Birmingham 2022 CWG was the first carbon neutral CWG. The event was premised upon the following four steps that were taken to manage and measure its carbon footprint:

i.Understand: Assessing the likelihood of carbon impact from the games.

ii.Reduction: Prioritising and focusing on significant areas in which carbon reductions can be made.

iii.Measure Final footprint: Completing a final assessment of carbon footprint of the games.

iv.Offset: Making sure emissions are offset where possible and highlighting other ways to reduce emissions.

  •         The organizers also partnered with water company Severn Trent that was responsible for delivering a series of initiatives that help offset the carbon generated by the Commonwealth Games.
  •         The company will be creating 2,022 acres of forest as well as 72 tennis-court-sized mini forests in urban areas across the West Midlands.

 Motto:

The official motto of Birmingham 2022 was ‘Games for Everyone’ which seeks to bring people together, connecting athletes from countries far and wide, or communities from across the city and region.

Emblem:

It was a blue and yellow ‘B’ which is meant to link the venues of the sporting events to be held as part of the games. The colour palette represents Birmingham as the youngest city in Europe.

Mascot:

The mascot for the 2022 Birmingham CWG was ‘Perry’, a multi-coloured jazzy bull with an athletic build. It is named after Perry Barr, the area of Birmingham where the transformed Alexander Stadium hosted the Games’ opening and closing ceremonies and athletics events.

  •         The bull is an animal synonymous with Birmingham’s market area which is commonly referred to as the Bull Ring since the 16th century. It has an iconic bull structure in bronze.
  •         It also features a gold medal, a reference to Birmingham’s famous Jewellery Quarter, where 40% of the country’s jewellery is made.

It should be noted that the mascot was designed by 10-year-old Emma Lou from Bolton, Greater Manchester, who won a national competition for making the mascot.

Mission:

i.Bring people together

ii.Improve health and wellbeing

iii.Help the region to grow and succeed

iv.Be a catalyst for change

v.Put us on the global stage

Venues:

It took place in 15 venues spread across the West Midlands region, with 7 of them located in the city of Birmingham, 7 in the UK’s West Midlands area, and a Lee Valley VeloPark in the South Eastern city of London for cycling track events. Following is the list of venues:

  1.     Alexander Stadium for Athletics and Para Athletics
  2.     Arena Birmingham for Gymnastics (Artistic) and Gymnastics (Rhythmic)
  3.     Cannock Chase Forest for Cycling (Mountain Bike)
  4.     Coventry Arena for Judo, Wrestling, and Rugby Sevens
  5.     Edgbaston Stadium for Cricket T20
  6.     Lee Valley VeloPark for Cycling (Track and Para Track)
  7.     The NEC for Badminton, Boxing, Netball, Para Powerlifting. Table Tennis, Para Table Tennis, and Weightlifting
  8.     Sandwell Aquatics Centre for Aquatics, Diving, Aquatics, Swimming and Para Swimming
  9.     Smithfield for Basketball 3×3, Beach Volleyball, and Wheelchair Basketball 3×3
  10. Sutton Park for Triathlon and Para Triathlon
  11. University of Birmingham Hockey and Squash Centre for Hockey, and Squash
  12. Victoria Park for Lawn Bowls and Para Lawn Bowls
  13. Victoria Square for Athletics – Marathon Finish Area
  14. Warwick for Cycling (Road Race)
  15. West Park for Cycling (Time Trial)

Participants:

72 nations, more than 5,000 athletes competed across 280 events in 20 different sports.

  •         India was represented by a 215-member contingent. The athletes competed in events across 16 sports.
  •         Out of the 215 athletes, 108 were men, while 107 were women.
  •         The total strength of the Indian contingent was however to be 322, including 72 team officials, 26 extra officials, and nine contingent staff, including three general managers.

Opening and Closing Ceremony:

i.The opening ceremonies of the 2022 Commonwealth Games were held at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on July 28, 2022.

  •         The Queen’s Baton Relay that has been undergoing since October 7, 2021, also concluded on July 28, 2022 during the Opening Ceremony.

ii.The Closing ceremony took place on August 8, 2022 at Alexander Stadium, which saw the formal handover to Victoria, Australia, to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

2022 Commonwealth Medal Table:

RankCGAGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Australia675754178
2       England576653176
3 Canada26323492
4 India22162361
5 New Zealand20121749
6 Scotland13112751
7 Nigeria1291435
8 Wales861428
9 South Africa791127
10 Malaysia78823
11–40       Others415660157
Totals (43 CGAs)280282315877

Note: 40th rank is shared by Malta, Nauru, Niue, and Vanuatu.

For the First Time in CWG history Women’s cricket (Twenty 20) has been added as a sport and the inaugural edition was won by Australia (Gold) and Team India were the Silver medalists.

Winner:

Australia finished atop the final Commonwealth Games 2022 medal tally with a total of 178 medals consisting 67 gold, 57 silver and 54 Bronze medals.

India in Commonwealth Games 2022:

In CWG 2022, India stood at 4th position with a total medal tally of 61, consisting of 22 Gold, 16 Silver, and 23 Bronze medals. It was India’s 18th appearance at the event.

  • The Indian contingent was led by flagbearers Pusarla Venkata (PV) Sindhu, two-time Olympic medallist, and men’s hockey captain Manpreet Singh in the opening ceremony of CWG 2022. 
  • India’s flagbearers Achanta Sharath Kamal and Nikhat Zareen lead the contingent during the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games 2022.

India Completed 200 CWG Gold Medals; 4th Nation to Achieve This Milestone

PV Sindhu’s women’s singles badminton gold medal marked India’s 200th gold medal in Commonwealth Games history in Birmingham, by defeating Mitchell Li(Canada).

i.India’s gold medal tally now stands at 203, which is the 4th best in CWG history.

ii.Australia topped the Gold Medal count in CWG history with 1003 gold medals, followed by England with 773 Gold Medals in second place and Canada in third with 510 Gold Medals. 

  • India’s best-ever finish came at the CWG 2010 in Delhi, where it finished second on the medals table with 101 medals, including a haul of 38 Golds.
  • At the CWG 2018 edition at the Gold Coast (Australia), Indian athletes won a total of 66 medals, 26 Gold, 20 Silver and 20 Bronze, to finish third overall, behind hosts Australia and England.

Highlights:

i.Shooting, which garnered 16 of the 66 medals at Gold Coast CWG 2018, was dropped from the Commonwealth Games programme for Birmingham 2022.

  • More than any other sport, Shooting has contributed 135 of India’s 564 total medals at the Commonwealth Games.

ii.Sanket Sargar became the first Indian to win a medal in Birmingham after he won silver in the men’s 55kg weightlifting event. 

iii. Mirabai Chanu became the first Indian to win a Gold medal at CWG 2022, while Jeremy Lalrinnunga became the first Indian man to win a Gold medal and place on the podium in Birmingham.

At the CWG 2022, Sudhir won the first medal for India—a gold—in the para sports. He won the men’s heavyweight para powerlifting championship.

iv.Paddler Sharath Kamal earned India’s final gold medal at CWG 2022 in the men’s singles table tennis category. 

v.In the men’s singles bronze medal match at the CWG 2022, squash player Saurav Ghosal defeated England’s James Willstrop to become the first Indian athlete to earn an individual medal in the sport of squash.

First ever Medal event in Commonwealth Games. 
i.Long jumper Murali Sreeshankar(Kerala) has created history by becoming the first Indian male athlete to win a silver medal in the long jump.
ii.Eldhose Paul(Kerala) has created history by winning India’s first-ever gold medal in the triple event in Commonwealth Games.
iii.Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat(Women’s Freestyle 53kg Wrestling) created history by winning the third consecutive gold medal in the Commonwealth games and became the first Indian woman to win Gold at both the Commonwealth(2018 Gold Coast(48 kg) & 2014 Glasgow(50 kg) as well as Asian Games (2018 Jakarta Asian Games)
iv.Tejaswin Shankar(Delhi), with an effort of 2.22m, won India’s first medal in the high jump at the Commonwealth Games.
v.The Indian quartet of Lovely Choubey (lead), Pinki (second), Nayanmoni Saikia (third), and Rupa Rani Tirkey (slip) defeated South Africa 17-10 to win the gold medal in women’s ‘fours’.This is India’s first-ever Commonwealth Games medal in lawn bowls.
vi.Saurav Ghosal( West Bengal) clinched the bronze medal in squash men’s singles by beating James Willstrop of England 11-6, 11-1, 11-4  and becoming India’s first-ever medal in squash singles at the Commonwealth Games.
vii.India’s men’s doubles badminton pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy(Andhra Pradesh) and Chirag Shetty(Maharashtra) won the gold medal in the 2022 Commonwealth Games by defeating England’s Ben Lane and Sean Vendy. This is India’s first gold in the badminton men’s doubles event at the Commonwealth Games.
Facts of the First medal in Common Wealth Games:
  • India won only 1 bronze medal in their first-ever appearance at the Commonwealth Games in 1934. Rashid Anwar won India’s first medal in wrestling in1934.
  • Milkha Singh won India’s first individual gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, in 1958 in Wales.

Commonwealth Games 2022: Indian Medal Winners by Sport

SPORTGOLD MEDALSILVER MEDALBRONZE MEDALTOTAL
Weightlifting33410
Judo0213
Lawn bowls1102
Table Tennis3115
Badminton3126
Squash0022
Para Powerlifting1001
Athletics1438
Wrestling61512
Boxing3137
Para Table Tennis1012
Hockey0112
Cricket0101
TOTAL22162361

Sport Wise Indian Medal Winners at CWG 2022

ATHLETICS

No.ATHLETEMedalCategory
1Eldhose PaulGoldMen’s triple jump
2Murali SreeshankarSilverMen’s long jump
3Priyanka GoswamiSilverWomen’s 10000m race walk
4Avinash SableSilverMen’s 3000m steeplechase
5Abdulla AboobackerSilverMen’s triple jump
6Tejaswin ShankarBronzeMen’s high jump
7Sandeep KumarBronzeMen’s 10000m race walk
8Annu RaniBronzeWomen’s javelin throw

BADMINTON

No.ATHLETEMEDALCATEGORY
1PV SindhuGoldWomen’s singles
2Lakshya SenGoldMen’s singles
3Satwiksairaj Rankireddy / Chirag ShettyGoldMen’s doubles
4Indian mixed teamSilverMixed team
5Kidambi SrikanthBronzeMen’s singles
6Treesa Jolly / Gayatri GopichandBronzeWomen’s doubles

 

BOXING

NoATHLETEMEDALCATEGORY
1Nitu GhangasGoldWomen’s 48kg minimum weight
2Amit PanghalGoldMen’s 51kg flyweight
3Nikhat ZareenGoldWomen’s 50kg light flyweight
4Sagar AhlawatSilverMen’s 92+kg super heavyweight
5Jaismine LamboriaBronzeWomen’s 60kg lightweight
6Mohammad HussamuddinBronzeMen’s 57kg featherweight
7Rohit TokasBronzeMen’s 67kg welterweight

CRICKET

NoATHLETEMEDALCATEGORYSPORT
1Women’s cricket teamSilverWomen’s T20Cricket

                                                                                                                               

HOCKEY

NoTeamMEDALCATEGORY
1Men’s hockey teamSilverMen’s hockey
2Women’s hockey teamBronzeWomen’s hockey

JUDO

NoATHLETEMEDALCATEGORY
1Sushila Devi LikmabamSilverWomen’s 48kg
2Tulika MaanSilverWomen’s +78kg
3Vijay Kumar YadavBronzeMen’s 60kg

LAWN BOWLS

NoATHLETEMEDALCATEGORY
1Indian women’s teamGoldWomen’s fours
2Indian men’s teamSilverMen’s fours

 

                 

PARA POWERLIFTING

NoATHLETEMEDALEVENT
1SudhirGoldMen’s heavyweight

                   

PARA TABLE TENNIS

NoATHLETEMEDALEVENT
1Bhavina Patel GoldWomen’s singles Classes 3-5
2Sonalben PatelBronzeWomen’s singles classes 3-5

SQUASH

NoATHLETEMEDALEVENT
1Saurav GhosalBronzeMen’s singles
2Dipika Pallikal / Saurav GhosalBronzeMixed doubles

TABLE TENNIS

NoATHLETEMEDALEVENT
1Indian men’s teamGoldMen’s team
2Sharath Kamal / Sreeja AkulaGoldMixed doubles
3Sharath KamalGoldMen’s singles
4Sharath Kamal / G SathiyanSilverMen’s doubles
5Sathiyan GnanasekaranBronzeMen’s singles

WEIGHTLIFTING

NoATHLETEMEDALEVENT
1Mirabai ChanbuGoldWomen’s 49kg
2Jeremy LalrinnungaGoldMen’s 67kg
3Achinta SheuliGoldMen’s 73kg
4Sanket SargarSilverMen’s 55kg
5Bindyarani DeviSilverWomen’s 55kg
6Vikas ThakurSilverMen’s 96kg
7Gururaja PoojaryBronzeMen’s 61kg
8Harjinder KaurBronzeWomen’s 71kg
9Lovepreet SinghBronzeMen’s 109kg
10Gurdeep SinghBronzeMen’s +109kg

 

WRESTLING

NoATHLETEMEDALEVENT
1Bajrang PuniaGoldMen’s 65kg freestyle
2Sakshi MalikGoldWomen’s 62kg freestyle
3Deepak PuniaGoldMen’s 86kg freestyle
4Ravi Kumar DahiyaGoldMen’s 57kg freestyle
5Vinesh PhogatGoldWomen’s 53kg freestyle
6NaveenGoldMen’s 74kg freestyle
7Anshu MalikSilverWomen’s 57kg freestyle
8Mohit GrewalBronzeMen’s 125kg freestyle
9Pooja GehlotBronzeWomen’s 50kg freestyle
10Divya KakranBronzeWomen’s 68kg freestyle
11Pooja SihagBronzeWomen’s 76kg freestyle
12Deepak NehraBronzeMen’s 97kg freestyle

 

About Commonwealth Games:

The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games, is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.