Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur congratulated the Indian contingent for their great performances in the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham. India finished 4th in the medal tally with 22 Gold, 16 Silver and 23 Bronze medals and with a total of 61 medals at the Commonwealth Games.
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"I congratulate the Indian players who have won medals in the Commonwealth Games 2022. 61 medals have been bagged by Indian players. Athletes have set new records. Prime Minister Narendra Modi would continue to boost their morale as they return to India," said Thakur to ANI.
India has delivered its fifth-best performance of all time in their Commonwealth Games history, with their best being a total of 101 medals when the games were held at home in 2010.
However, achieving 61 medals this time around holds a lot of significance since the shooting, which is India`s most successful discipline historically with 135 medals, was not included in the games this time. The numbers could have been way higher had it been included.
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The Indian contingent also saw some first-time medals like lawn bowls and cricket. Notably, the women`s cricket team was sent as a part of the contingent. India lost to Australia by a narrow margin of nine runs in a thrilling final.
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Also, the Indian Lawn Bowls team consisting of Rupa Rani Tirkey, Nayanmoni Saikia, Lovely Choubey and Pinki Singh created history by winning its first-ever medal in the sport, capturing Gold by defeating South Africa by 17-10 in the final of the women`s fours event. The men's fours team also clinched a silver later.
India dominated contact and strength-based sports of weightlifting, wrestling and boxing. The country`s contingent won 12 medals in wrestling, its most successful sport in the 2022 edition of the multi-sport event.