Let the games begin! Two days ago, the Commonwealth Games 2018 kicked off, and there are events lined up till the closing ceremony on April 15. Gold Coast, a city in Australia’s state of Queensland, is playing host to about 6,600 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and territories, including India. Athletes have been training long and hard to participate in the 18-sport and seven-para-sport event. And this year, for the first time ever in the history of the Games, an equal number of medals are up for grabs in the men’s and women’s events.
Like the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games (CWG) is also a multi-sporting event. But the focus is only on summer sports like gymnastics, athletics, or shooting. And unlike the Olympics, the participants are only teams from the Commonwealth of Nations. This means only countries and territories that, at one time or another, were part of the British Empire can participate.
Kenya's Julius Yego throws during the final of Men's Javelin throw during the trials for the 2018 Commonwealth Games at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi on February 17, 2018. The 2018 Commonwealth Games will be held in Australia's Gold Coast in the country's northeast from April 4 to 15. The Games are contested between nations that are members of the Commonwealth, a group of countries that were once part of the British Empire. / AFP PHOTO / Yasuyoshi CHIBA
When the Games were first proposed in 1891, many of the current Commonwealth Nations were still under British rule. Englishman John Astley Cooper, the “inventor” of the Games, thought that it would be “a means of increasing goodwill and good understanding of the British Empire.” In 1911, the first ‘Festival of Empire’ was held with just four nations. From 1930, the Games were held every four years as the ‘British Empire Games’. The current avatar was adopted in 1978.
What’s in store
Motto: ‘Share the Dream’ is the motto of the Games this year — an embodiment of the Gold Coast experience. The organisers, Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC), promise that all participants — spectators too — will share in the contagious enthusiasm of the athletes who have dared to dream.
GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA - MAY 17: Aerial views of Carrara Stadium can be seen, it will host the opening and closing ceremonies as well as the athletics events at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, May 17, 2017 in Gold Coast, Australia. The 2018 Commonwealth Games will be held on the Gold Coast from April 4th to 15th next year. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Venue: The main venue for the Games (athletics, opening and closing ceremonies) is the Carrara Stadium. The swimming and diving events will be held at Gold Coast Aquatic Centre (also known as Optus Aquatic Centre). Besides Gold Coast, some of the events will also be held at neighbouring cities of Brisbane, Cairns, and Townsville.
A young boy jumps off a statue of "Borobi", the official mascot of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games near the Broadbeach Bowls Club venue in Gold Coast on April 1, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / ADRIAN DENNIS
Mascot: The mascot for the Games is Borobi, the koala. Borobi is a unique koala — he has blue fur, intricate Indigenous markings on his paws, a penchant for surfing (sunscreen, too), and his very own theme song!
Team India
Last week, the Union Sports Ministry approved a list of 325 individuals who are attending the Games from India. Not just the chosen athletes, but their support staff as well — coaches, managers, and physiotherapists. The list included shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth, Saina Nehwal, and P.V. Sindhu.
Shuttler P.V. Sindhu, Olympic silver medallist (Rio 2016), was the flag-bearer for India at April 4’s opening ceremony. Athletics, shooting, weightlifting, badminton, gymnastics and hockey are events to keep an eye on. Hopes are pinned on gymnast Aruna Reddy. The 24-year-old won bronze at the recent Gymnastics World Cup in Melbourne.
India’s most successful Games was in 2010, at Delhi; the Indian team was second in the medal tally. Here’s hoping for a gold rush at Gold Coast for India!
