Ravi Dahiya to Dutee Chand - Commonwealth Games 2022 Queen’s Baton Relay’s glittering India tour ends

The Queen’s Baton Relay for the Commonwealth Games 2022 concluded its India leg in Odisha on Saturday.

The baton travelled through various parts of India for four days before leaving the Indian shores from Bhubaneswar - the capital of the Indian state of Odisha.

The Baton Relay is similar to the Olympic Torch relay tradition and carries a message from the Queen of England - the head of the Commonwealth. The baton moves across all Commonwealth nations before heading back to the host country.

The Commonwealth Games 2022 will be held in Birmingham, UK.

The Queen’s Baton Relay began its Indian leg in Delhi on January 12, with Tokyo Olympics silver medal-winning wrestler Ravi Dahiya being the first bearer.

The baton then travelled to Bengaluru, where legendary Indian long jumper Anju Bobby George, a Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, completed a symbolic run with it.

The Queen’s Baton reached the final destination of the India tour, Odisha, where it was welcomed by three-time hockey Olympian Dilip Tirkey and hurdler Anuradha Biswal, an Asian championship bronze medallist. It then travelled to Puri and Konark.

The relay culminated at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar with two-time Asian Games silver winner Dutee Chand and former Indian women’s hockey team captain Sunita Lakra, who competed at Gold Coast 2018, handing over the baton to the officials.

Ahmedabad was also on the relay itinerary but was skipped due to COVID-19 concerns.

The next destination for the baton is Singapore.

The Queen’s Baton Relay began on October 7 at Buckingham Palace. Over a 294-day journey, it will cover 72 nations and territories of the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth Games  2022 is scheduled to be held from July 28 to August 8.

At the previous edition - 2018 CWG Games in Gold Coast, Australia - India finished third on the medals table.