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:
- Alexander Stadium for Athletics and Para Athletics
- Arena Birmingham for Gymnastics (Artistic) and Gymnastics (Rhythmic)
- Cannock Chase Forest for Cycling (Mountain Bike)
- Coventry Arena for Judo, Wrestling, and Rugby Sevens
- Edgbaston Stadium for Cricket T20
- Lee Valley VeloPark for Cycling (Track and Para Track)
- The NEC for Badminton, Boxing, Netball, Para Powerlifting. Table Tennis, Para Table Tennis, and Weightlifting
- Sandwell Aquatics Centre for Aquatics, Diving, Aquatics, Swimming and Para Swimming
- Smithfield for Basketball 3×3, Beach Volleyball, and Wheelchair Basketball 3×3
- Sutton Park for Triathlon and Para Triathlon
- University of Birmingham Hockey and Squash Centre for Hockey, and Squash
- Victoria Park for Lawn Bowls and Para Lawn Bowls
- Victoria Square for Athletics – Marathon Finish Area
- Warwick for Cycling (Road Race)
- 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:
| Rank | CGA | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 67 | 57 | 54 | 178 |
| 2 | England | 57 | 66 | 53 | 176 |
| 3 | Canada | 26 | 32 | 34 | 92 |
| 4 | India | 22 | 16 | 23 | 61 |
| 5 | New Zealand | 20 | 12 | 17 | 49 |
| 6 | Scotland | 13 | 11 | 27 | 51 |
| 7 | Nigeria | 12 | 9 | 14 | 35 |
| 8 | Wales | 8 | 6 | 14 | 28 |
| 9 | South Africa | 7 | 9 | 11 | 27 |
| 10 | Malaysia | 7 | 8 | 8 | 23 |
| 11–40 | Others | 41 | 56 | 60 | 157 |
| Totals (43 CGAs) | 280 | 282 | 315 | 877 | |
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.
- 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
| SPORT | GOLD MEDAL | SILVER MEDAL | BRONZE MEDAL | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weightlifting | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| Judo | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Lawn bowls | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Table Tennis | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Badminton | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Squash | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Para Powerlifting | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Athletics | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| Wrestling | 6 | 1 | 5 | 12 |
| Boxing | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Para Table Tennis | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Hockey | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Cricket | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 22 | 16 | 23 | 61 |
Sport Wise Indian Medal Winners at CWG 2022
ATHLETICS
| No. | ATHLETE | Medal | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eldhose Paul | Gold | Men’s triple jump |
| 2 | Murali Sreeshankar | Silver | Men’s long jump |
| 3 | Priyanka Goswami | Silver | Women’s 10000m race walk |
| 4 | Avinash Sable | Silver | Men’s 3000m steeplechase |
| 5 | Abdulla Aboobacker | Silver | Men’s triple jump |
| 6 | Tejaswin Shankar | Bronze | Men’s high jump |
| 7 | Sandeep Kumar | Bronze | Men’s 10000m race walk |
| 8 | Annu Rani | Bronze | Women’s javelin throw |
BADMINTON
| No. | ATHLETE | MEDAL | CATEGORY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PV Sindhu | Gold | Women’s singles |
| 2 | Lakshya Sen | Gold | Men’s singles |
| 3 | Satwiksairaj Rankireddy / Chirag Shetty | Gold | Men’s doubles |
| 4 | Indian mixed team | Silver | Mixed team |
| 5 | Kidambi Srikanth | Bronze | Men’s singles |
| 6 | Treesa Jolly / Gayatri Gopichand | Bronze | Women’s doubles |
BOXING
| No | ATHLETE | MEDAL | CATEGORY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nitu Ghangas | Gold | Women’s 48kg minimum weight |
| 2 | Amit Panghal | Gold | Men’s 51kg flyweight |
| 3 | Nikhat Zareen | Gold | Women’s 50kg light flyweight |
| 4 | Sagar Ahlawat | Silver | Men’s 92+kg super heavyweight |
| 5 | Jaismine Lamboria | Bronze | Women’s 60kg lightweight |
| 6 | Mohammad Hussamuddin | Bronze | Men’s 57kg featherweight |
| 7 | Rohit Tokas | Bronze | Men’s 67kg welterweight |
CRICKET
| No | ATHLETE | MEDAL | CATEGORY | SPORT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Women’s cricket team | Silver | Women’s T20 | Cricket |
HOCKEY
| No | Team | MEDAL | CATEGORY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Men’s hockey team | Silver | Men’s hockey |
| 2 | Women’s hockey team | Bronze | Women’s hockey |
JUDO
| No | ATHLETE | MEDAL | CATEGORY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sushila Devi Likmabam | Silver | Women’s 48kg |
| 2 | Tulika Maan | Silver | Women’s +78kg |
| 3 | Vijay Kumar Yadav | Bronze | Men’s 60kg |
LAWN BOWLS
| No | ATHLETE | MEDAL | CATEGORY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indian women’s team | Gold | Women’s fours |
| 2 | Indian men’s team | Silver | Men’s fours |
PARA POWERLIFTING
| No | ATHLETE | MEDAL | EVENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sudhir | Gold | Men’s heavyweight |
PARA TABLE TENNIS
| No | ATHLETE | MEDAL | EVENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bhavina Patel | Gold | Women’s singles Classes 3-5 |
| 2 | Sonalben Patel | Bronze | Women’s singles classes 3-5 |
SQUASH
| No | ATHLETE | MEDAL | EVENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saurav Ghosal | Bronze | Men’s singles |
| 2 | Dipika Pallikal / Saurav Ghosal | Bronze | Mixed doubles |
TABLE TENNIS
| No | ATHLETE | MEDAL | EVENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indian men’s team | Gold | Men’s team |
| 2 | Sharath Kamal / Sreeja Akula | Gold | Mixed doubles |
| 3 | Sharath Kamal | Gold | Men’s singles |
| 4 | Sharath Kamal / G Sathiyan | Silver | Men’s doubles |
| 5 | Sathiyan Gnanasekaran | Bronze | Men’s singles |
WEIGHTLIFTING
| No | ATHLETE | MEDAL | EVENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mirabai Chanbu | Gold | Women’s 49kg |
| 2 | Jeremy Lalrinnunga | Gold | Men’s 67kg |
| 3 | Achinta Sheuli | Gold | Men’s 73kg |
| 4 | Sanket Sargar | Silver | Men’s 55kg |
| 5 | Bindyarani Devi | Silver | Women’s 55kg |
| 6 | Vikas Thakur | Silver | Men’s 96kg |
| 7 | Gururaja Poojary | Bronze | Men’s 61kg |
| 8 | Harjinder Kaur | Bronze | Women’s 71kg |
| 9 | Lovepreet Singh | Bronze | Men’s 109kg |
| 10 | Gurdeep Singh | Bronze | Men’s +109kg |
WRESTLING
| No | ATHLETE | MEDAL | EVENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bajrang Punia | Gold | Men’s 65kg freestyle |
| 2 | Sakshi Malik | Gold | Women’s 62kg freestyle |
| 3 | Deepak Punia | Gold | Men’s 86kg freestyle |
| 4 | Ravi Kumar Dahiya | Gold | Men’s 57kg freestyle |
| 5 | Vinesh Phogat | Gold | Women’s 53kg freestyle |
| 6 | Naveen | Gold | Men’s 74kg freestyle |
| 7 | Anshu Malik | Silver | Women’s 57kg freestyle |
| 8 | Mohit Grewal | Bronze | Men’s 125kg freestyle |
| 9 | Pooja Gehlot | Bronze | Women’s 50kg freestyle |
| 10 | Divya Kakran | Bronze | Women’s 68kg freestyle |
| 11 | Pooja Sihag | Bronze | Women’s 76kg freestyle |
| 12 | Deepak Nehra | Bronze | Men’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.
