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Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 are just around the corner. CWG will begin on July 28 and will go on till August 8. The Indian contingent will be participating in several categories in the mega event and look to better their tally of 66 medals in the previous edition which included 26 gold, 20 silver and as many bronze medals.
Ahead of the CWG 2022, there have been a few controversies that have led to the exclusion of India’s star players. While Indian contingent will still aim to better their third-best result (in 2018) in the tournament’s history, here are the controversies that hogged the limelight.
Saina’s ouster
The two-time CWG gold medallist Saina Nehwal skipped the selection trials for the event that were held by Badminton Association of India last month. Earlier, it was reported that Saina has decided to skip the trials. However, the veteran said that she informed the association about her decision as it was not possible to appear for the trials after getting back from Europe events.
“Surprised to see all the articles stating that I don’t want to defend my CWG title and my Asiad medal. I’m just not participating in the trials because I just got back from 3 weeks of Europe events and according to the schedule there’s Asian Championships,” she tweeted after her exclusion from CWG 2022.
The star Indian shuttler revealed that she is yet to get a reply from the association. Also, the 32-year-old accused BAI of ignoring her due to one loss at India Open.
“In 2 weeks time, As a senior player to participate in back to back events nonstop is impossible and it’s risking injuries, such short notice is not possible. I’ve conveyed this to BAI but there has been no response from them. It seems like they’re happy to put me out of CWG n Asiad. I wish we had better understanding about how to manage a schedule and not announce events with 10 days notice. I’m world no.23 currently and I almost beat the world no.1 Akane in All England. One loss at India open and BAI tries to pull me down. Shocking,” she further wrote.
As per BAI’s rules, players who are not ranked in top 15 of BWF rankings cannot skip trials. The players who fall in that category were exempted from the trials. In place of Nehwal, 14-year-old Unnati Hooda has been included in India's Asian Games and CWG squad.
Satender Malik’s violent exit
Satender Malik got the shock of his life during CWG trials in the 125kg category. After his controversial loss, the wrestler slapped the senior referee Jagbir Singh before allegedly using inappropriate language for the decision that led to his loss.
Malik was leading the bout by 3-0 against Mohit Grewal. Then, his opponent attempted a takedown followed by a push-out. Grewal was awarded one point for the pushout by referee Virender Malik. Later, the decision was challenged. As Satyadev Malik was recused after Grewal's coach's appeal, Jabir was called for the review. After taking a long look, Jabir ruled in Grewal's favour which led to the violent episode.
Malik was handed a life ban by Wresting Federation of India (WFI). The wrestler appealed the decision and shared a video in which Jagbir can be allegedly seen slapping him first.
“It is a conspiracy against me. I challenge them to get the review done by UWW (international federation) or any neutral referee. It will always be called as one point. Former secretary general Raj Singh instigated it all,” Malik told The Tribune.
“I have been a wrestler for over 10 years and I have never seen anything like this ever. How can a jury of appeal be changed for a review? Jagbir did not see my fight for one second. Netaji (Brij Bhushan) changed the jury and asked the review to be seen again. Jagbir was told what decision to make. Everyone colluded against me, and my four-year long training went down the drain,” he added.
