Female Athletes Who Won Big & Made India Proud in the Common Wealth Games 2022

Female Athletes Who Won Big & Made India Proud in the Common Wealth Games 2022

By: Navyasri, Writer, WomenEntrepreneurIndia

The final few days of the Commonwealth Games 2022 saw India's contingent walk away with galore of gold medals across several events. India ended the fantastic run it had at the Commonwealth Games in fourth place altogether with 61 total medals won. Total medals won by India were 22 gold, 16 silver, and 23 bronze.

As India enjoyed a remarkable Commonwealth Games 2022 campaign in Birmingham, big names maintained their dominant run, new heroes emerged for India, and steely old guards rose from the ashes to prove a message.

By giving it their all in qualifying competitions, athletes have been putting themselves through the hardships of qualifying for CWG 2022. India has consistently been a force to be reckoned with in the Commonwealth Games, and the forthcoming CWG in Birmingham won't be any different. Here is a list of female athletes who made a significant effect at CWG 2022.

WRESTLING

Anshu Malik wins a silver medal in women's freestyle 57 kg wrestling

Anshu Malik of India won silver in the women's freestyle 57 kg competition at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022. In the championship match, she was defeated by Nigeria's Odunayo Folasade Adekuoroye 7-3.

Sakshi Malik wins the women's 62 kg category gold medal

At the current Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham, Indian wrestler Sakshi Malik won her nation's third wrestling medal of the day by defeating Ana Paula Godinez Gonzalez in the women's freestyle 62 kg final.

Indian grappler Divya Kakran wins bronze

The talented Indian wrestler Divya Kakran defeated Tiger Lily Cocker Lemalie of Tonga at the Coventry Arena Wrestling Mat B to win the bronze medal in the Women's Freestyle 68 kg division of the ongoing Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022. Lemalie was defeated by Kakran in the match by a score of 2-0, earning her the bronze medal in a heart-pounding 26 seconds thanks to a Victory by Fall.

Pooja Gehlot of India wins bronze in wrestling

At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Indian wrestler Pooja Gehlot took home the bronze medal in the Women's Freestyle 50 kg division. She triumphed over Scottish Christine Lemofack Letchio at the Coventry Arena. Wrestling Mat B. Gehlot prevailed 12–2 and used technical advantage to win the bronze medal match.

Vinesh Phogat wins gold in wrestling for the third time in a row

Vinesh has won a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games for the third time in a row. The skilled wrestler won the Glasgow competition in 2014. (48kg category). Later, in Gold Coast 2018, she won a second gold (50kg category).

Pooja Sihag earns a bronze medal

At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Pooja Sihag of India settled for the bronze medal in the women's 76 kg wrestling sport. In the bronze medal match, the 25-year-old from Haryana, a previous Asian bronze medalist, defeated Australia's Naomi de Bruine to qualify for the Birmingham 2022 podium.

WEIGHTLIFTING

Mirabai Chanu won the first gold medal for India in weightlifting at the Commonwealth Games

It was certain that the Indian lifter would successfully defend her 49 kg gold title at the Commonwealth Games. After all, the 27-year-old has conquered her weight class at the CWG like a champ. She ended with 201 kg overall, which is 29 kg more than Marie Ranaivosoa, who won the silver medal.

Weightlifting's Bindyarani Devi wins a silver medal

Bindyarani Devi coasted to a silver medal, relying on her strength in the raise and jerk to make up for her shortcoming in the snatch. The 23-year-old from Manipur lifted 202 kg in total, falling just one kilogramme short of Nigerian Olarinoye's gold medal. At the Commonwealth Games 2022, Fraer Morrow won bronze with a new personal best weight of 198 kg.

Harjinder Kaur Wins Bronze in Women's 71kg Weightlifting

Harjinder Kaur brought India's total of weightlifting medals to nine when she won the bronze medal in the women's 71kg weightlifting on Day 4 of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Her weight was 212 kg. Kaur was out of the running for a medal after her efforts, but a huge error by gold medal favourite Joy Ogbonne Eze, who failed to record any lifts in the clean and jerk, allowed Kaur to win bronze. 

BOXING

Boxing Nikhat Zareen wins the gold medal

Nikhat Zareen, an Indian boxer, won the gold medal in the women's 50 kg light flyweight division at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. In the final, Nikhat prevailed over Carly MC Naul with a 5-0 score and a unanimous decision. Nikhat, who earned his first gold in the CWG, put on another impressive performance.

Nitu Ghangas wins gold in the women's 48 kg division in boxing

In the women's 48 kg boxing final at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham, Indian boxer Nitu Ghangas defeated English boxer Demie-Jade Resztan to win a gold medal.

She defeated her English opponent 5-0 on a points basis. Resztan was no match for Ghangas throughout the contest. The English boxer put up a good fight, but all three rounds were lost because Ghangas had unanimous approval from the five judges.

Jasmine Lamboria, a boxer, wins bronze in the women's lightweight division

Jasmine Lamboria of India won the bronze medal in the women's 60 kg Lightweight division at the current Commonwealth Games 2022 after falling to Gemma Paige of England. With a 3-2 victory over the Indian, the English boxer secured her spot in the competition's final thanks to a split decision that favoured the Brit. The British opponent, who faced the 20-year-old, appeared to be in control right away.

Although the youngster made an effort to challenge, the event's favourite ultimately prevailed 3-2 to advance to the final.

TABLE TENNIS

Bhavina Patel Wins Gold in Para Table Tennis

At the Commonwealth Games 2022, Bhavina Patel, a prominent Indian para table tennis player, won the women's singles class 3-5 gold medal.

To finish off an outstanding performance at the quadrennial competition, the 35-year-old from Gujarat, who had won a silver medal at the Paralympics in Tokyo, defeated Nigeria's Ifechukwude Christiana Ikpeoyi 12-10 11-2 11-9.

Bhavina won the individual silver medal in the 2011 PTT Thailand Open, moving her up to No. 2 in the world. A silver medalist in the women's singles class 4 at the 2013 Asian Para Table Tennis Championships held in Beijing, she also achieved this feat.

Sonalben Patel wins bronze in the women's singles event in para table tennis

Sonalben Manubhai Patel of India won the bronze medal in the women's singles - Classes 3-5 competition at the 2022 Commonwealth Games by defeating Sue Bailey of England.

Patel defeated Sue Bailey 3-0 in a dominating performance (11-5, 11-2, 11-3). The entire match was won by Sonalben Manubhai Patel, who also defeated England Sue Bailey in the first game 11-5.

JUDO

Shushila Devi Likmabam wins silver in the 48kg final

India earned its seventh medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022 when Shushila Devi Likmabam won silver in the women's judo 48kg final.

The two Judokas engaged in a spirited duel. Each player in the match received a second Shido. The two judokas each had two penalties. With a leg sweep, Michaela Whitebooi captured the gold.

Tulika Maan wins silver in the women's judo 78kg competition

With her silver in the women's 78kg+ division, Tulika joins Sushila Devi and Vijay Kumar Yadav as the third Indian judoka to win a medal in judo at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022.

BADMINTON

In women's doubles badminton, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand defeated an Australian duo to win bronze

At the Commonwealth Games, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand of India won the bronze medal in the women's singles badminton competition. The team won their first doubles medal at the Games by defeating Australia's Chen Hsuan-Yu Wendy and Gronya Somerville 21-15, 21-19 in a row.  Overall, this is their second CWG medal after winning silver in the mixed team competition earlier in the same edition.

PV Sindhu wins a singles gold medal in the CWG after three tries and 13 years of effort

Glasgow bronze in 2014, Gold Coast silver in 2018, and Birmingham gold in 2022,  PV Sindhu has finally achieved her dream at the Commonwealth Games.

But for Sindhu, getting the yellow metal wasn't simple. She made three attempts, put in 13 years of work, and made numerous sacrifices before winning the multi-sport competition.

Since her Games debut, Sindhu has failed to win a gold medal in singles despite having won one in the mixed team competition at the CWG in 2018.

LAWN BOWLS

Meet India's fab four, who took home gold in the women's lawn bowl sport

Lawn bowls is a niche sport that few Indians are aware of in a country that is obsessed with cricket. At the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022, four outstanding female athletes—Lovely Choubey, Rupa Rani Tirkey, Pinki, and Nayanmoni Saikia—brought the sport the much-needed attention it deserved.

This is India's first-ever medal in the sport of lawn bowls, which has been featured in the CWG since 1930. India began taking part in the competition after the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Now that the game has gained popularity, millions of Indians are looking for lawn bowls' rules. In order to achieve the unprecedented achievement, the Indian women's fours team defeated South African powerhouses. For the four ladies who have been playing the sport for more than ten years, it has been a long journey.

10000m RACE WALK

Priyanka from Meerut returns with silver

LUCKNOW Priyanka Goswami enjoys following regional athletic competitions in her hometown of Meerut and never misses an opportunity to witness the young athletes compete on the tracks of the Kailash Prakash Stadium.

Goswami's dedication paid off handsomely as she broke a three-year-old national record to take home the silver medal in the women's 10,000m race walk. She clocked 43:38.82, a new national record, to finish on the podium at the Alexander Stadium.

HOCKEY

Indian women's hockey team wins bronze

The Indian women's hockey team survived the stopwatch controversy to defeat New Zealand 2-1 in a shootout and take home the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games. Skipper Savita Punia led from the front with an outstanding performance.

CRICKET

Indian women's cricket team wins silver in the first-ever Games final

In the decisive match versus Australia in the Commonwealth Games final at Edgbaston, the Indian women's cricket team came dangerously close to capturing the historic gold medal but ultimately had to settle for silver. 

JAVELIN THROW

Annu Rani wins bronze in the women's javelin throw

Annu Rani, an Indan athlete, won the bronze medal in Birmingham after recording a throw of 60 metres, which was her best effort of the day. She finished third behind Australian Kelsey Lee Barber, who won the gold medal with a throw of 64.43 metres, and her fellow countrywoman Mackenzie Little, whose throw of 64.27 metres was also a lifetime best.

A minute before halftime, Salima, who scored off a rebound with a reverse hit after Navneet Kaur's first effort had been blocked by the opposing goaltender, helped India finally breach the New Zealand defence.