Commonwealth Games 2022: India has always been one of the most unpredictable nations at the Commonwealth Games. A land full of great athletes, India has come a long way to be one of the best in the business. However, every building has a base, and similarly, these 3 moments were revolutionary as they defined a new sporting era in India, in their own glancing manner:
- Milkha Singh’s Historic Gold in 1958: Probably the greatest Indian athlete ever in sporting history, the “Flying Sikh” won the gold medal in the Men’s 400m event in Cardiff, Wales. Not only did he win the gold medal, but he won the gold medal comprehensively as his ravishing pace was at its impeccable peak and it didn’t even leave the slightest of chances for any other athlete to defeat the legendary Indian runner. In the process, Milkha won India's first gold medal as an independent nation at the Commonwealth Games, then still known as the British Empire Commonwealth Games.
- Rashid Anwar’s Historic Bronze Medal in 1934: Rashid Anwar won the first ever medal for India at the multi-sport event, in London in 1934. India, still under British rule, went to the 1934 London Games as a group of merely 6 athletes. Rashid won the bronze medal in the welterweight category as he rose above all when the odds were against him. This embarked a new era for India as a legacy in wrestling was created and India, to date, remains a global powerhouse in the sport.
- Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap’s Gold Medals (2010 and 2014): India's rise as a Badminton superpower started with Saina Nehwal’s gold medal in 2010 and Parupalli Kashyap’s gold medal in 2014 at the Commonwealth Games. Though Prakash Padukone won the gold in 1978, India’s dominant rise started in 2010, and this led to a foundation for many great athletes, most noticeable being the two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu.