Woman power drives India’s haul with eight of 13 gold medals

The medal haul may have gone down from 2022 Commonwealth Games due to a scaled down version with only 10 disciplines in Glasgow, but the Indian contingent did well to retain their fourth position in the medals tally. They finished with a haul of 39 medals as against 61 four years back — 13 of them gold, 17 silver and nine bronze.

There are no prizes for guessing that boxing had yielded them 25 per cent of the tally alone with 10 medals — seven gold and all coming on Saturday night along with three silver. The medals breakdown in other disciplines are: athletics and para athletics (three gold, seven silver & six bronze), judo (two gold, one silver and bronze each), weightlifting (one gold, six silver and one bronze) and para powerlifting (one).

A striking feature of India’s campaign is that eight of 13 India’s gold medallists in Glasgow have been women: Mirabai Chanu who made it three gold in CWG, Sharmila Dhankar, Asmita Dey, Sakshi Chaudhary, Preeti Pawar, Jaismine Lamboria, Priya Ghanghas and Arundhati Choudhary.

The heart-rending story of Sharmila, who ended India’s 20-year wait for a para-athletics gold, caught the attention of global media as one of extraordinary courage and human resilience. The 40-year-old's gold came in women’s Shot Put F57 event with a season-best effort of 9.81 metres. 

The gold medal around her neck was the culmination of a hard-fought journey as she fought domestic abuse by her husband after being married off as a 19-year-old - not to speak of public humiliation. The F57 category is for athletes with lower limb impairments or reduced muscle power. 

Commenting on the women power pushing India’s medal campaign, P. T. Usha, President of Indian Olympic Association and herself an athlete who once broke the glass ceiling was effusive. ‘’Seeing Indian women win eight of our 13 gold medals fills me with immense pride. These achievements are the result of years of dedication by the athletes, their families, coaches and support teams. Every medal tells the story of perseverance and sacrifice,’’ she told IOA media.

‘’More importantly, these champions are inspiring countless young girls across India to believe that they too can wear the India jersey and succeed on the world stage,’’ she added.

From the weightlifting platform and the boxing ring to the judo mat and para athletics arena, India's women have not merely contributed to the campaign—they have led it. It is a powerful reflection of the transformation taking place in Indian sport. Olympic champion Mirabai Chanu Saikhom once again reaffirmed her status as one of India's greatest sporting icons with another Commonwealth Games gold.

If para athlete Sharmila was a newsmaker, Tripura girl Asmita scripted history by becoming India’s first CWG judo gold medallist. The boxing ring then witnessed one of the finest displays by Indian women at an international multi-sport event last night — Sakshi, Preeti, Jaismine, Priya and Arundhati all struck gold, underlining the depth of talent in Indian women’s boxing.

Later on Sunday, the curtains will come down on the Games with a closing ceremony that marks both an end and a new beginning for India. The event will be held at the OVO Hydro Arena in Glasgow, with the ceremony beginning at 9:00 PM local time (BST), which is 1:30 am IST on Monday.

 The closing ceremony will be headlined by legendary Scottish rock band Simple Minds, who will be joined by local artists Cammy Barnes, BEMZ, Sandi Thom and folk-electronic group Elephant Sessions. Australian singer Delta Goodrem will also perform, making her third appearance at a Commonwealth Games ceremony.