CWG 2022 Athletics Analysis: Neeraj-less India shines bright amidst selection controversy

The two things which stood out before the Indian athletics contingent entered Birmingham for the 2022 Commonwealth Games were the absence of Olympic Champion Neeraj Chopra owing to an injury, and the circumstances under which his close friend and high jumper Tejaswin Shankar was included in the team.

All of that though now looks like a thing of past. The Indian athletics contingent sans Neeraj certainly punched above their weight at the Alexander Stadium with Tejaswin winning the first of the total eight medals.

Here, we take a look at the Indian athletics contingent's performance in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Tejaswin Shankar forgets everything to jump

Having reached Birmingham after a big selection controversy, a court case and some visa issues, Tejaswin Shankar did what he does the best at the Alexander Stadium. The 23-year-old put everything aside and calmly leapt over 2.22m to bag a bronze medal in men's high jump.

Tejaswin was expected to be a medal prospect right from the start, but his mental strength to forget everything and compete is what stood out in Birmingham. 

Was Murali Sreeshankar robbed?

Murali Sreeshankar had to settle for a silver in men's long jump with a best of 8.08m. While it was the best-ever performance by an Indian man in the Commonwealth Games in the sport, what stood out was his fourth attempt which was called a foul by 1cm. Though the replays showed otherwise leading to a big outrage amongst Indian fans, the technology used during the event maintained it was a foul.

Unexpected show from Racewalkers 

10000m Racewalkers Priyanka Goswami and Sandeep Kumar came out of the syllabus for Indian fans in Birmingham. While the former bagged the silver medal in the women's section with a national record, the latter followed it with a bronze in men's to bolster the Indian medal tally in the Commonwealth Games.

Avinash Sable gives Kenyans a run for their money

Avinash Sable has been on an constant upward curve since the past many months. Still, no one really expected him to return from Birmingham with a medal - not when there were 3 Kenyans running in the Men's 3000m Steeplechase section.

But, the man from Beed had other ideas. Unlike the World Championships, the 27-year-old set the pace early on in the Alexander stadium before settling for a silver medal by just 0.05 seconds. With his silver, Sable brought down curtains on the Kenyan dominance of six-edition long podium sweeps in Men's 3000m steeplechase.

Annu Rani leads the javelin show

She was expected to win a medal in women's javelin throw and Annu Rani did just that during the Commonwealth Games. Having started poorly with below-par throws in her first few attempts, the Meerut girl found a 60m throw to squeeze home the bronze medal in what was India's only medal in the sport.

Historic show in Men's Triple Jump

India earned a top 2 finish for the first time ever in any men's event at the Commonwealth Games, when Eldhose Paul and Abdulla Aboobacker finished first and second respectively in Triple Jump. It could have been even better with a podium sweep, but Praveen Chitravel fell just short of a bronze by 3cm.