The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Friday, July 15, announced a 322-strong Indian squad including 215 athletes and 107 officials and support staff for the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games (CWG) scheduled to take place in the English city from July 28, 2022.
The squad will look to improve on their 2018 Gold Coast CWG performance, where the Indian contingent finished third behind traditional powerhouses in Australia and England. Tokyo 2020 Javelin Throw champion Neeraj Chopra will lead the Indian contingent to march past as flag bearer in the opening ceremony, which promises to be a grand affair.
Sharing his thoughts on the official announcement, Mr Rajeev Mehta, Secretary General, IOA, said, “We are sending one of our strongest squads ever to the CWG and even with a strength sport for us like Shooting not being there, we are confident of bettering our performance from the last edition. Make no mistake. The competition will be world-class and fierce but our athletes have prepared well and are fit and raring to go. We wish them all the very best.”
“It needs to be said that the Government of India led by the Hon. Prime Minister have provided unprecedented support to Olympic sports in recent years and our best-ever performance at the Olympic Games stands testimony to that. We remain ever grateful for the same and are sure our athletes will ensure that rich rewards are reaped for the untiring efforts put in by them, most of all the Union Sports Ministry and the Sports Authority of India,” he added.
Some prominent names in the squad besides Neeraj Chopra include the likes of Olympic medallists PV Sindhu, Mirabai Chanu, Lovlina Borgohain, Bajrang Punia and Ravi Kumar Dahiya. Defending CWG champions Manika Batra, and Vinesh Phogat as well as 2018 Asian Games Gold medalists Tajinderpal Singh Toor, Hima Das & Amit Panghal are also a part of the team.
Rajesh Bhandari, Vice President, Boxing Federation of India (BFI), has been appointed the Chef de Mission of the squad.
Team India will compete in 15 sporting disciplines as well as four disciplines in the Para Sports category. Some of the disciplines where India looks to perform well include Boxing, Badminton, Hockey, Weightlifting, Wrestling, and Women’s Cricket, which will be making its debut at the CWG.
The Indian squads in Athletics, Cycling, Swimming, and Table Tennis are also strong and primed for the challenge.
Various members of the squads have already arrived in Birmingham over the past few days, depending on their training regimes laid out by their respective coaches. Some members are competing at various global locations and would reach the venue directly while the rest of the contingent will leave from New Delhi.
The CWG village will officially open its doors to contingents on July 23, 2022.
