Birmingham Tales
Written on August 29th, 2022 by {"login"=>"jcbphc21", "email"=>"f20181005@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in", "display_name"=>"Journal Club, BPHC", "first_name"=>"Journal Club", "last_name"=>"BPHC"}Lawn Bowls
India shone at the twenty-first staging of the Lawn Bowls competition at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, with our women’s fours team of Rupa Rani, Pinki, Nayanmoni Saikia, and Lovely Choubey clinching top honors at the tournament. They were accompanied by our men’s fours team of Sunil Bahadur, Navneet Singh, Chandan Kumar and Dinesh Kumar who clinched the silver medal at the Birmingham Lawns.
The women's quartet secured the gold medal by beating South Africa in the finale after an inspiring turnaround to finish 17-10. The men’s team also led a solid campaign to reach the finals against Northern Ireland but were unable to capitalize further, struggling towards the end to finish 18-5. Both our squads performed phenomenally and have since drawn interest and attention in India to the relatively subtle sport of lawn bowling.
In lawn bowling, the team’s objective is to get the bowl closest to a target, known as the ‘jack’. The sport is played in singles, pairs, triples, and fours competitions. The position of the jack is not fixed, and the players use a weight-biased bowl to get a curved path of travel. Each round is called an ‘end,’ and the different formats have different rules to finish the game.
Table Tennis
The current edition of the Commonwealth Games, organized in Birmingham, England, hosted Table Tennis for the sixth time since its inclusion in 2002. It was scheduled to take place between 29 July and 8 August 2022, spread across eleven events (including four parasport events). There were 34 participating Commonwealth Games Associations(CGA’s) in table tennis and para-table tennis, with a total of 190 athletes. The Indian Men’s team comprising Achanta Sharath Kamal, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Harmeet Desai, and Sanil Shetty clinched the gold by beating Singapore 3-1. Apart from being the overall champions, they also won two gold medals, one silver medal, and one bronze medal. The Women’s team consisted of Manika Batra, Archana Kamath, Sreeja Akula, and Reeth Rishya. India’s para table tennis team consisting of Bhavina Patel, Sonalben Patel, and Raj Aravindan Algar, won two medals - a gold and a bronze.
Boxing
Over the years, India has been successful at boxing at the Commonwealth Games with Indian boxers winning 37 medals since Shivaji Bhonsle won the bronze medal at the 1970 Edinburgh Games. This year, the Indian boxing contingent of 12 boxers won a total of 7 medals with 3 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze, a tally only bested by England with 8 medals.
Two time world youth champion Nitu Ghanghas won India’s first medal in boxing at the Birmingham games by defeating Demie-Jade of England. World Boxing Championship silver medallist Amit Panghal won the gold medal with a comfortable 5-0 win against Kiaran MacDonald, redeeming his disappointing performance at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. World flyweight champion Nikhat Zareen dominated her opponents on her way to the gold medal.
Newcomer Sagar Ahlawat surprised everyone by winning the silver medal in his maiden international outing. Despite losing the final, the 20-year-old had a successful campaign and dominating performances in his bouts leading up to the final.
Debutant Rohit Tokas and 2018 Gold Coast bronze medallist Mohammed Hussamuddin settled for bronze medals after losing their semifinal bouts on split decisions of 2-3 and 4-1 respectively. Promising youngster Jaismine Lamboriya also won the bronze medal after losing to England’s Gemma Paige.
Veterans Shiva Thapa, Lovlina Borgohain and Sanjeet Kumar had underwhelming performances and bowed out before the medal rounds.
The overall performance of India’s boxing contingent can be considered a success despite the underwhelming performances from veterans. With 7 medals and the rise of young boxing talents, the future looks bright for Indian boxing.
Cricket
Cricket returned to the Commonwealth Games for the 2022 edition, held at Birmingham. The previous CWG edition that included Cricket was in 1998 (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), when a List A men's tournament was held. A Women's T20I tournament was included in the 2022 edition. The tournament was held at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground, with 8 Nations competing in a total of 16 games.
India finished on the podium with a silver medal, while Australia and New Zealand won the gold and bronze medals, respectively. Australia, Barbados, and Pakistan were vying with India for a top-two finish in India's group. The tournament got off to a bad start for India, as Australia won by three wickets, rendering Harmanpreet Kaur and Renuka Singh's valiant efforts futile. India responded magnificently, securing convincing wins over archrivals Pakistan and Barbados to secure playoff qualification, with clinical performances from Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Renuka Singh.
For the playoffs, India faced the hosts England, and the game lived up to the hype, culminating in a nail-biting finish. India posted a respectable total of 164, with Mandhana batting brilliantly for her 61(32). Sneh Rana's final over helped India defend the total as England fell short by four runs.
The final was always going to be a tough match, as India faced off against Australia for the coveted Gold Medal. The Australians scored 161 runs, and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur's display of quality batting ensured that India remained in the game. But a fall of wickets in quick succession dashed India's hopes, as Australia defeated India by 9 runs to win the Gold Medal.
India took silver with experienced players like Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur contributing crucial knocks. Renuka Singh spearheaded the bowling attack and finished with the most wickets in the tournament. Overall, India performed admirably, punching above their weight to win a Silver Medal for the country.
Badminton
At the 2022 Commonwealth games, held in Birmingham, badminton was spread across six events taking place between 29 July and 8 August, 2022.
The events were men’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s singles, women’s doubles, mixed doubles and mixed team. The Indian contingent secured 3 gold(women’s singles, men’s singles and men’s doubles), 1 silver(mixed team) and 2 bronze medals(men’s single, women’s doubles).
Two time Olymic gold medallist, PV Sindhu, put a dominant performance to defeat former CWG gold medallist Michelle Li in the finals of the women’s sigle event, with a score line of 21-15, 21-13.
Commonwealth games debutant, 20 year old Lakshya Sen came back from losing the first set to win the gold medal in the men’s single event by defeating Ng Tze Yong of Malaysia. Kidambi Srikanth won the bronze in the same event.
The men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Chetty became the first in their category to win gold for India at the Commonwealth games. They defeated England’s Ben Lane and Sean Vendy in the final. This is also the first time that India has won three gold medals in badminton at the Commonwealth games.
Women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand won the bronze medal, while the Indian mixed team bagged the silver medal.
Squash
India sent nine players including the experienced Dipika Pallikal, Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinnapa. Plus, 14-year old Squash prodigy Anahat Singh, who won the Asian U-15 title earlier this year, was also a part of India squad. Apart from the aforementioned quartet, India squad also included Ramit Tandon, Abhay Singh, Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu, Velavan Senthilkumar and Sunayna Kuruvilla.
Overall the Squash team’s campaign was quite good as they went on to win two medals at Birmingham, despite some partial refereeing and biased decisions against them. Prior to 2022 CWG, India had won a total of 3 medals at Common Wealth, which included a gold medal at 2014 edition and two silver medals at the 2018 edition of the games. This year, breaking a long-standing jinx, Saurav Ghosal claimed India’s first ever singles medal in squash-a bronze at the CWG. After losing the semi-final match against the New Zealand’s top seed Paul Coll, the 35-year old came up with a commanding win over England’s James Willstrop in the bronze medal match. Meanwhile, the Indian pair Dipika Pallikal-Saurav Ghosal beat Australia’s Donna Lobban and Cameron Pilley in the bronze medal match of the mixed doubles event. The Aussie pair had denied them the gold medal at 2018 CWG. But this time the Indian pair was intense enough to decimate the Australian Challenge and win the medal match in straight games. Apart from this, Sunayna Kuruvilla defeated Fung-A-Fat of Guyana to win the women’s singles squash plate final.
Weightlifting
The Indian weightlifting contingent put on a brilliant performance at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. With 10 medals (3 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze), India became the nation with the highest number of weightlifting medals in the 2022 edition of the Games.
Here’s a look at how the medal winners fared in their respective weight categories.
Sanket Mahadev Sargar: Men’s 55 kg category
21-year-old weightlifter Sanket Mahadev Sargar opened India’s account at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games with an awe-inspiring silver medal in the men’s 55 kg category.
Sanket successfully lifted 107 kg, 111 kg and 113 kg, respectively on his first three attempts, claiming the number one position at the end of the snatch round and matching the national record in the process.
Sanket lifted 135 kg in his first clean and jerk attempt with relative ease. Sargar’s gold medal hopes, which were very alive until this point, took a hit when he injured his right elbow in his second attempt of 139kg, which he could not complete successfully. Sanket persevered through the pain and risked his elbow for a third attempt (139 kg), setting an example of grit and pure determination.
With a total lift of 248 kg, Sanket Mahadev Sargar of Maharashtra won the silver medal. B. Mohammad Aniq of Malaysia lifted 249 kg total for gold, and D. Yodage of Sri Lanka bagged the bronze medal with a total lift of 225 kg.
In an interview after the medal ceremony, Sanket said he wanted to dedicate his medal to the brave hearts who dedicated their lives to India’s freedom struggle. From a small paan shop in Sangli to one of the greatest sporting stages in the world, Sanket has come a long way. We can’t wait to see this young star shine brighter and bring in many more laurels for the country.
Gururaja Poojary: Men’s 61 kg category
Experienced weightlifter Gururaja Poojary won the bronze medal in the men’s 61 kg category with a total lift of 269 kg. This was his second Commonwealth Games medal after his silver medal finish at the 2018 Gold Coast Games in the men’s 56 kg category.
The 30-year-old hailing from Vandse, Karnataka started strong with successful snatch attempts of 115 kg and 118 kg. He could not complete his third attempt of 120 kg, which meant Gururaja went into the clean and jerk segment in the fourth position.
We saw a spirited display from Gururaja Poojary in the clean and jerk as he lifted 144 kg and 148 kg in his first two attempts with relative ease, his calm demeanour standing out. With a personal best lift of 151 kg in his third attempt, Poojary ensured a medal for India despite not being able to compete in peak physical condition.
Gururaja Poojary settled for bronze behind Malaysia’s Aznil Bin Bidin Muhammad (total lift 285 kg- Games record) and Papua New Guinea’s Morea Baru (total lift 273 kg).
Gururaja Poojary, who is now an aircraftman with the Indian Air Force, has had to overcome a lot of financial hardship to reach this far. His sporting career started with wrestling before he switched to powerlifting and finally weightlifting. It will be foolish to measure Gururaja’s achievements in weightlifting through medals alone. The man has inspired weightlifters all over India, including Sanket Sargar, through his resilient performances on the world stage.
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu: Women’s 49 kg category
On a day when India bagged medals of all three colours in weightlifting, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu shone the brightest with her dominant display in the women’s 49 kg category.
The ever-cheerful weightlifter from Manipur came in at the end and lifted 84 kg on her first snatch attempt. Chanu lifted a personal best 88 kg on her next attempt, setting a Commonwealth Games record in the process and gaining a solid lead of 12 kg at the first position after the snatch round.
Mirabai ensured a gold medal in her first clean and jerk attempt with a 109 kg lift, only to come back and lift 113 kg in her next attempt, which is also a Games record. Mirabai ended up with a total lift of 201 kg, again a Commonwealth Games record. Never for once did she appear to be affected by the weight of expectations, as Mirabai completed her lifts with a radiant smile and her signature namaste. Roilya Ranaivosoa of Mauritius came in second with a total lift of 172 kg, while Canadian Hannah Kaminski lifted 171 kg total to take home the bronze.
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu delivered India’s first gold medal at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Watching her sing the national anthem loud and proud as our cherished tricolour was being raised was an exhilarating experience indeed. In an interview after the medal ceremony, Chanu stated that the competition was always with herself, and she was confident heading into the World Weightlifting Championships to be held later this year.
Sorokhaibam Bindyarani Devi: Women’s 55 kg category
Sorokhaibam Bindyarani Devi marked her first Commonwealth Games appearance with a silver medal in the women’s 55 kg category. She started off with a successful 81 kg snatch attempt and followed it up by lifting 84 kg in her second attempt with flawless technique. The third and final snatch attempt saw Bindyarani Devi lifting a personal best of 86 kg and equalling the national record, on account of which she managed to head into the clean and jerk round in the third position.
Bindyarani successfully lifted 110 kg in her first clean and jerk attempt. Her next attempt of 114 kg was ruled not good enough by the judges. Going in for her final attempt, Bindyarani Devi decided to aim for silver as she successfully lifted 116 kg. In the process, she set a Commonwealth Games record in the clean and jerk section of the women’s 55 kg category.
With a total lift of 202 kg, S. Bindyarani Devi ensured the silver medal. Nigeria’s Adijat Adenike Olarinoye took home the gold with a Games record total lift of 203 kg, and Fraer Morrow of England won the bronze medal with a total lift of 198 kg.
23-year-old Bindyarani Devi’s journey until this point is one of grit and perseverance. Hailing from a low-income family in Manipur that struggled to make ends meet, she did not even have proper training shoes at one point. Bindyarani Devi, often called Mirabai 2.0, admitted that she looks up to Saikhom Mirabai Chanu as her idol and has received a significant amount of guidance from the star lifter in the past.
Lalrinnunga Jeremy: Men’s 67 kg category
19-year-old Jeremy Lalrinnunga from Aizawl, Mizoram took home the gold medal for the men’s 67 kg weightlifting at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, 2022.
The 2018 Youth Olympics gold-medallist finished the snatch segment in a dominant fashion, successfully lifting 136 kg and 140 kg in his first two attempts. Even though he could not complete the final lift of 143 kg, he went into the clean and jerk segment having a solid lead of 10 kg at the top over his closest competitor. Interestingly, the successful 140 kg snatch lift saw Jeremy setting a Commonwealth Games record as well.
Jeremy completed his first clean and jerk lift of 154 kg. There was nothing to rejoice about yet, for the teenager almost collapsed from pain and had to be assisted off the stage. Still in a lot of pain, Jeremy increased the weight to 160 kg in his next attempt and successfully made the lift, falling down again but refusing to give in to the cramps. The final unsuccessful attempt of 165 kg did not hamper his gold medal ambitions.
With a total lift of 300 kg (Games record), Jeremy Lalrinnunga bagged the gold medal ahead of Samoa’s Vaipava Nevo Ioane (total lift 293 kg) and Nigeria’s Edidiong Joseph Umoafia (total lift 290 kg).
The teenager from Mizoram exuded an aura of confidence and self-belief in the medal ceremony as he gestured that he belonged at the top. Watching the young Jeremy sing the national anthem with his hand held in salute was a proud moment for people across the country. There was a brilliant moment of sportsmanship between Jeremy and the silver-medallist Vaipava Ioane as the latter placed his garland around Jeremy’s neck, a Samoan mark of respect. Jeremy Lalrinnunga is undoubtedly a superstar in the making and the future of Indian weightlifting.
Achinta Sheuli: Men’s 73 kg category
2021 Junior World Weightlifting Championships silver-medallist Achinta Sheuli announced himself on the senior stage with a bang on July 31, 2022, when he clinched the gold medal in the men’s 73 kg category in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
The calm and composed Achinta lifted 137 kg and 140 kg in his first two snatch attempts with relative ease before matching his personal best of 143 kg in the third and final attempt. 143 kg is the Games record as well. Heading into the clean and jerk segment, Achinta had a lead of 5 kg at the top over his nearest competitor.
Sheuli lifted 166 kg in his first clean and jerk attempt. He made up for his failed 170 kg second attempt in the final clean and jerk attempt to consolidate his lead at the top position by a margin of 10 kg.
With a total lift of 313 kg (Commonwealth Games record), Achinta Sheuli won the gold medal. Malaysian weightlifter Erry Hidayat Muhammad (total lift 303 kg) won the silver ahead of Canada’s Shad Darsigny (total lift 298 kg), who took home the bronze medal.
Achinta Sheuli hails from the small town of Deulpur in Howrah district, West Bengal. After his father’s death in 2013, Achinta’s journey to the top was riddled with multiple challenges. To support his family, the young Achinta had to help his mother in embroidery work after school and training. His elder brother Alok Das was a state-level weightlifter himself, and it was through him that Achinta got introduced to the sport. Under extreme poverty, Alok sacrificed his own career to help his younger brother realise his dream. Coach Astam Das, who trains young weightlifters in his small shed despite being financially unstable himself, has been a major guiding light in Achinta’s career. Achinta’s fortunes took a positive turn on making it to the Army Sports Institute, Pune, in 2014. Currently he holds the rank of Havildar. The boy who once used to carry heaps of paddy in return for a meagre bowl of chickpea curry and a boiled egg at the end of the day is now expected to carry the weight of the nation’s expectations in Paris, 2024.
Harjinder Kaur: Women’s 71 kg category
Harjinder Kaur from Nabha of Patiala district, Punjab, won the bronze medal in the women’s 71 kg weight category with a total lift of 212 kg.
Harjinder started with 90 kg, her then personal best in snatch. She could not complete her first attempt. That did not matter, however, as she easily lifted 90 kg in her next attempt. Lifting 93 kg in the third and final snatch attempt, Harjinder achieved a new personal best and went into the clean and jerk in the fourth position just 1 kg shy of Australia’s Kiana Rose Elliott.
Harjinder completed all three lifts in the clean and jerk segment- 113 kg, 116 kg and 119 kg. Her third-place finish was confirmed only after Nigeria’s Joy Ogbonne Eze failed to register a valid clean and jerk lift. Sarah Davies of England lifted a combined weight of 229 kg (Games record) to win the gold medal, while Canadian lifter Alexis Ashworth took the silver by lifting 214 kg total.
Harjinder was happy with the medal, but she was not satisfied with her performance as she believed she could do better. Daughter of a farmer, Harjinder rose from very humble beginnings, and she is grateful to her family members for their unending support. Her father was the one who motivated her to pursue the sport through all the odds. We look forward to many more medals from Harjinder Kaur in the future.
Vikas Thakur: Men’s 96 kg category
Vikas Thakur went to the 2022 Birmingham Games as two-time Commonwealth Games medallist and came back a three-time Commonwealth Games medallist. The experienced weightlifter from Himachal Pradesh, who now resides in Ludhiana, added a silver medal in the men’s 96 kg weight category to his impressive resume, which also features a 2014 Glasgow Games silver medal (85 kg category) and a 2018 Gold Coast Games bronze (94 kg category).
Thakur did not hold back his emotions after successful snatch attempts of 149 kg, 153 kg and 155 kg. The Samoan and Fijian weightlifters were not fooling around either, with lots of passion on display.
Vikas lifted 187 kg in his first clean and jerk attempt with just a second in the timer remaining and narrowly escaped his effort being discounted. On his second attempt, Vikas lifted 191 kg and did the ‘thapi’, which he later told was his way of offering a tribute to the late Sidhu Moosewala. Vikas failed to make his final lift of 198 kg count, but his total lift of 346 kg was enough to win silver as he edged out the bronze-medallist Taniela Tuisuva Rainibogi of Fiji by 3 kg. Don Opeloge of Samoa put on a humongous display of strength, lifting a record 381 kg to claim the gold.
Vikas entered the world of sports aiming to become a boxer, but the lack of facilities and infrastructure in his hometown forced him to switch to weightlifting. He holds the national record of 353 kg in his weight category. Vikas Thakur’s journey so far has been phenomenal, and he is far from done.
Lovepreet Singh: Men’s 109 kg category
Lovepreet Singh from Amritsar won the bronze medal in the men’s 109 kg category by lifting a combined weight of 355 kg. In 2021, he had won a silver medal in the World Weightlifting Championships held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Lovepreet lifted 157 kg and 161 kg in his first two snatch attempts. With a convincing 163 kg lift in his last snatch attempt, Lovepreet went into the clean and jerk round in the third position. He did not show any signs of struggling in his lifts.
Composing himself, Lovepreet successfully completed his first two clean and jerk lifts of 185 kg and 189 kg. In the third attempt, he lifted 192 kg, a new national record. With a total lift of 355 kg, Lovepreet Singh won the bronze after a spirited display. Junior Ngadja Nyabeyeu of Cameroon struck gold with a 361 kg total lift, 3 kg clear of the silver-medallist, Samoan J. Hitilla Opeloge.
The 24-year-old Indian Navy officer was very happy to have won a medal in his first major tournament. Lovepreet did not come from an affluent background, and had to work from a young age to make ends meet. His medal sparked off celebrations in his village of Bal Sikander. We will be hoping for more medals from the youngster in the future.
Gurdeep Singh: Men’s +109 kg category
India’s remarkable campaign in weightlifting at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games came to a successful conclusion with Gurdeep Singh’s bronze medal in the men’s +109 kg category.
Gurdeep’s first snatch attempt of 167 kg did not succeed, which he made up for by lifting the same weight in the next attempt. An unsuccessful 173 kg third attempt meant Gurdeep headed into the clean and jerk segment in the fourth position.
After having lifted 207 kg in his first clean and jerk attempt, Gurdeep increased the weight by 8 kg to attempt 215 kg in his next lift, which he seemed to have completed. However, this lift was not given the green signal. On his next attempt, Gurdeep added 8 kg to his second lift and successfully heaved 223 kg.
With a total lift of 390 kg, Gurdeep Singh bagged the bronze medal, only bettered by Pakistan’s Muhammad Nooh Dastgir Butt (total lift 405 kg- Games record) and New Zealand’s David Andrew Liti (total lift 394 kg).
With this medal, Gurdeep Singh overcame the disappointment of his fourth-place finish at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, 2018. Gurdeep believes he could have put up a better performance if not for his injuries. We hope he only improves from here.