India at Commonwealth Games: Quiet beginnings to rousing podium finishes
India have won 564 medals at the Commonwealth Games since the nation made its debut in 1934. Jaspal Rana, with 15 medals, is the most successful Indian at the CWG.
India have been fairly regular at the Commonwealth Games, featuring in all but four editions (1930, 1950, 1962 and 1986) of the quadrennial showpiece.
Indian athletes debuted at the Commonwealth Games, then called the British Empire Games, back in 1934.
The Indian contingent at London 1934 CWG featured six athletes, who competed in 10 track and field events and one wrestling event. India won one medal at their debut Commonwealth Games.
Wrestler Rashid Anwar was the first Indian to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games after clinching the bronze medal in the men’s 74kg freestyle wrestling event at CWG 1934.
Since their debut in 1934, India have won 564 medals – 203 golds, 189 silvers and 172 bronze - at the Commonwealth Games.
However, the first few editions were very challenging for the nation.
Post-independence, India mainly participated in athletics but medals were few and far between until things took a turn for the better in 1958.
Legendary sprinter Milkha Singh became the first Indian to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, clinching the top spot in the men’s 440 yard event at Cardiff 1958.
India bagged another gold in the same edition when heavyweight wrestler Lila Ram won in the men’s 100kg freestyle category.
Cardiff 1958 was a historic year for women’s participation too as track and field athletes Stephanie D’Souza and Elizabeth Davenport became the first Indian women to compete at the Commonwealth Games.
Meanwhile, the rise of Indian wrestling in the 70s and the 80s played a significant role in the country’s improving fortunes at the Commonwealth Games.
After the wrestlers, the Indian weightlifters stepped up and earned numerous accolades for the nation, with Raghavan Chandrasekaran proving to be the jewel in the crown.
Two-time Olympian weightlifter Raghavan Chandrasekaran won three gold medals, including snatch, clean and jerk and overall, in the flyweight division at Commonwealth Games 1990 and followed it up with three silvers in bantamweight at the 1994 edition in Victoria, Canada.
However, it is the shooters that have won the most medals for India at the CWG, with 135 podium finishes.
Pistol shooter Jaspal Rana is the most successful Indian athlete at the Commonwealth Games, with 15 medals – nine golds, four silvers and two bronze. He dominated the shooting circuit in the 1990s and early 2000s.
The Indian shooters played a crucial role during India’s best showing at the Commonwealth Games, which came in 2010.
At New Delhi 2010, India won 101 medals - 39 gold medals, 26 silvers and 36 bronze to finish second on the medals leaderboard. New Delhi 2010 remains India’s most successful Commonwealth Games till date.
Indian women step up at CWG
While the men dominated the winners list in the initial years, Indian women have also upped their performances in the last few editions.
Indian badminton players Ami Ghia and Kanwal Singh were the first Indian women to win a Commonwealth Games medal, pocketing a women’s doubles bronze during Edmonton 1978.
Indian women have come a long way since 1978.
At Commonwealth Games 2018 in Gold Coast, Australia, table tennis ace Manika Batra was the most successful Indian with four medals. India finished third with 66 medals at the edition.
Since the 2000s, India have consistently finished among the top five countries in the medals table and are now a force to be reckoned with at the Commonwealth Games.