​Diminishing relevance: On the Commonwealth Games

As Olympic and World Championships medallist Mirabai Chanu stood atop the podium in Glasgow on Sunday, tears rolling down her cheeks after becoming the first woman weightlifter to secure her third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medal, she provided much-needed succour to a Games that had risked fading into oblivion a few years ago. With India set to host the centenary edition of the Games in Ahmedabad in 2030, there could not have been a better advertisement than Mirabai’s golden triumph, which also ensured her fourth medal of any colour in a row in the women’s 48kg category with a total of 190kg. The seasoned weightlifter’s feat may not be the only glorious chapter written in the Scottish city, as other leading Indian athletes are expected to climb the podium in athletics and para-athletics, weightlifting and para-weightlifting, boxing, judo, and lawn bowls and para-bowls. According to an internal estimation by the Union Sports Ministry, India’s athletes are expected to win around 30 medals even though several disciplines in which Indians have traditionally excelled — such as wrestling, badminton, table tennis, hockey and squash — were dropped from the scaled-down Glasgow event. Medals are expected from Neeraj Chopra, Murali Sreeshankar, Praveen Chithravel, and boxers Lovlina Borgohain and Jaismine Lamboria.