The Commonwealth Games also known as CWG are the second largest multi-sporting event in the world following the Olympics. It is also conducted once every four years in between the Olympic Games. It has been known by various names such as the British Empire Games, Friendly Games and British Commonwealth Games. A peculiar aspect of the Commonwealth Games is that they are the only games, where this is a single language being used as the lingua franca, English. The Commonwealth of Nations are those countries which formed a part of the British Empire during the colonial period.
There are current Nations in the Commonwealth and around 71 countries participate in the Games every 4 years including the 4 constituent kingdoms of the UK. The purpose of CWG is to improve the social & cultural relationships and promotion of democracy and Human Rights among the Commonwealth nations. Reverend Ashley Cooper was the first to suggest a Pan-Britannic sporting event to increase and maintain a spirit of goodwill and understanding within the British Empire.
In 2001, the three important values of Humanity, Equality and Destiny were adopted as the official motto of the Commonwealth Games. These values inspire and connect thousands of people and signify the broad mandate for holding the Games within the Commonwealth. There are a total of 31 sports which can be a part of the Commonwealth Games. Out of these, the sports in the category of Core Sports are mandatory in all the Games.
The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games was held in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi, India. It was the biggest international multi-sport competition to be held in India, overshadowing the Asian Games of 1951 and 1982. The official mascot of the Games was Shera and the official song of the Games, “Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto”, was composed by celebrated music maestro A.R. Rahman. The motto for 2010 CWG was “Come Out and Play.”
India’s performance in the games was outstanding and has become remarkable in the history of Indian Games. It is the first time for India that our Athletes brought the highest number of Gold medals ever in any Commonwealth Games. Out of the total 826 medals awarded, India won 101 total with 38 Gold, 27 Silver and 36 Bronze medals. This year at the 2022 Commonwealth Games we wish our Athletes best of luck and make them realize that we will always be proud of them.
 |
Kshitij-Barua, PGP Batch Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad |
