India has competed in all except four editions of the
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
; starting at the
second Games in 1934. India has also hosted the games once, in
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
. The most successful event for India in these games is
shooting
Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles can ...
.
History
Early years (1930s–1960s)
India have been fairly regular at the Commonwealth Games, featuring in all but four editions (
1930
Events
January
* January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
,
1950
Events January
* January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
* January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...
,
1962 and
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal ente ...
) 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 Games 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 74 kg freestyle wrestling event at
1934 British Empire Games
The 1934 British Empire Games were the second edition of what is now known as the Commonwealth Games, held in England, from 4–11 August 1934. The host city was London, with the main venue at Wembley Park, although the track cycling events wer ...
. Since their debut in 1934, India have won 564 medals – 203 golds, 190 silvers and 171 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
Milkha Singh (20 November 1929 18 June 2021), also known as The Flying Sikh, was an Indian track and field sprinter who was introduced to the sport while serving in the Indian Army. He is the only athlete to win gold at 400 metres at the A ...
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
Lila Ram Sangwan (30 November 1930 – 11 October 2003) was an Indian wrestler from Charkhi Dadri district of Haryana, who was the first Indian to win a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games. He won a gold medal in the heavyweight (100 kg) c ...
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
Elizabeth "Betty" Davenport (born October 1, 1938) is an Indian athlete. She won a silver medal in the 1958 Tokyo Asian games and bronze medal in 1962 Jakarta Asian games in Javelin Throw . She belonged to an Anglo-Indian family from Bombay ...
became the first Indian women to compete at the
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
.
Rise (1970s–present)
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 Chanderasekaran proving to be the jewel in the crown. Two-time Olympian weightlifter
Raghavan Chanderasekaran won three gold medals, including snatch, clean and jerk and overall, in the flyweight division at Commonwealth Games
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
and followed it up with three silvers in bantamweight at the
1994 edition in Victoria, Canada. Pistol shooter
Jaspal Rana
Jaspal Rana (born 28 June 1976) is an Indian shooter. He contested mainly in the 25 m Centre Fire Pistol category. He was a gold medallist at the 1994 Asian Games, 1998 Commonwealth Games - Men's Center Fire Pistol, Men's Center Fire Pistol Pa ...
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 until date. 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
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
.
Indian women step up the podium
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 Thakar Singh
Kanwal Thakar Singh (born Kanwal Thakar Kaur) is a former Indian badminton player and an Arjuna Award recipient. She presently lives in the United States of America.
Early life
Singh was born on 2 November 1954 in Chandigarh, India in a Jat S ...
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
Manika Batra (born 15 June 1995) is an Indian table tennis player. As of November 2020, she is the top-ranked female table tennis player in India and ranked 44th in the world as of November 22. She was awarded the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna i ...
was the most successful Indian with four medals. India finished third with 66 medals at the edition.
Host Nation
India hosted the Games in 2010, at
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
. It was India's most successful Commonwealth Games to date with Indian athletes winning 38 gold, 27 silver and 36 bronze medals.
Overall Medal Tally By Games
At the
2022 Commonwealth Games
The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...
, India ended its campaign with a total of 61 medals (22 gold, 16 silver, 23 bronze). India with an overall total of 564 medals (203 gold, 190 silver, 171 bronze) is ranked 4th at the
All-time Commonwealth Games medal table
This page shows the all-time medal table for the Commonwealth Games since the first ''British Empire Games'' in 1930. The table is updated as of 8 August 2022, the day the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham ended.
These rankings sort by the ...
. India's first ever Commonwealth medal was won by
Rashid Anwar, who won a bronze in the category of
wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
in 1934.
Overall Medal Tally By Sport
See also
*
India at the Olympics
India first participated at the Olympic Games in 1900, with a lone athlete Norman Pritchard winning two medals – both silver – in athletics and became the first Asian nation to win an Olympic medal.
The nation first sent a team to the Summer ...
*
India at the Paralympics
*
India at the World Games
India is participating in World Games since World Games 1981, inaugural Games of 1981. As of 2022 India has won 5 medals (1 Gold, 1 Silver and 3 Bronze).
Medal count
Medals by sport
Medalists
See also
*India at the Olympics
*India at th ...
*
India at the Asian Games
India is a member of the South Asian Zone of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), and has participated in the Asian Games since their inception in 1951. The Indian Olympic Association, established in 1927, and recognised in the same year by the In ...
*
India at the Lusofonia Games
India is participating in Lusofonia Games since 2006 Lusofonia Games, inaugural Games of 2006. India is an associate member of ACOLOP, the governing body of the games.
Overall medal table by Games
Overall Medal Table by Sport
See also
*Ind ...
*
India at the South Asian Games
Notes
[India won 1 Silver and 1 bronze medal in Powerlifting started from 2002 to 2014 when medals in Powerlifting were awarded under Weightlifting sport category. From 2018, Medals in Powerlifting are being awarded separately under individual sport category name.]
External links
Delhi 2010 Official websiteCommonwealth Games NewsIndia & Commonwealth games 2010: Specific information
References
{{National sports teams of India
Nations at the Commonwealth Games