THE scaled-down Commonwealth Games did affect India’s bigger medal haul but it gave a peep into the bright future for the country’s sports with some historic takeaways in disciplines beyond the traditional strengths. Though the event was marked by severe budget cuts and striking austerity, Indian sportspersons sounded their arrival with a bang in the limited sports chosen for this edition of the CWG. The final medal tally for India might show a big gap in the haul achieved in 2022 in Birmingham but the Glasgow edition must be looked at as harbinger of a glorious future for Indian sports. The CWG ‘Lite’, as the participating nations decided to view it due to its lowered scale, will be seen as an event where Indian sportspersons showed great depth and resilience and left their mark in disciplines hitherto unknown for lack of good Indian performers.

 

The key highlight has to be the historic breakthrough in judo by Indians. Asmita Dey (women’s 48kg) became the first Indian judoka to win a CWG gold. Harsh Singh (men’s 60kg) became the first Indian male to strike the yellow metal and Yamini Maurya added a silver lining to the Indian show. For a country, where martial art has remained under the radar despite huge presence in cities and towns, winning medals in the field dominated by some of the best in the world is, indeed, a massive achievement. Asmita, Harsh and Yamini have broken the glass-ceiling and pumped new hope in judo and its practitioners in the country. India should immediately look to building on this foundation. Picking the discipline for additional focus in Khelo India programme should be the natural progression for the Sports Ministry. Apart from the first-ever judo golds, India underscored its strength in para-sports with a respectable medal haul including historic gold. It shows the growth of para-sports in the country and another medium to add to India’s rising image as an emerging sports powerhouse.

 

The para-athletes deserve all love and respect from the country for the additional layer of challenge they face due to physical disabilities. That India is celebrating the para-athletes too in this CWG success is a heartwarming sign for Indian sportspersons. The CWG success needs to be seen from the angle of emergence of new disciplines as prospective medal clinchers apart from the traditional sources like weightlifting and boxing. The lawn ball event is one such discipline where India should invest for the future.

 

The sport is a mix of traditional disciplines and Indians have shown a fine aptitude to excel in the sports. Focusing on such disciplines can keep adding to India’s medal tally in marquee events. However, beyond the credible performance there are some concerns needing systematic redressal. The spurt of silver medals in some sports is a reminder of mental block in the final fight. Another matter to worry about is the consistent second-place finish by Olympic hero Neeraj Chopra. He was outsmarted by a relatively new entrant. It was the loss of a gold medal India had penciled in even before the CWG began.