Commonwealth Games’22 - The Way Forward

Most games involving the Commonwealth are played between countries that used to be a part of the United Kingdom. Despite gaining its independence from the UK in 1776, America never took part in these competitions. Teams from 72 different nations and territories competed in 19 sports events in this year’s commonwealth games in Birmingham, UK, from July 28 to August 8, 2022.

Since gaining its independence, Pakistan has taken part in numerous Commonwealth games events and, to some extent, won very few of them. Pakistan's 68-member crew competed in 12 sports events at the CW Games this year. Surprisingly, out of these 68 individuals, 33 played hockey and cricket, two sports. Unfortunately, none of our 33 players from these two glitzy games were able to perform well as a team at the same moment.

Our athletes from the wrestling, weightlifting, and judo events received enthusiastic praise from everyone for their outstanding performance. 6 Wrestlers won 5 medals in this Commonwealth games. None of the female athletes brought home any honours.

*Sports	No Of Players	Medal Won	%age of Winning
Male	Female	Total	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Athletics	3	2	5	1	0	0	1	20%
Wrestling	6	0	6	0	3	2	5	83%
Weightlifting	3	0	3	1	0	0	1	33%
Judo	2	0	2	0	0	1	1	50%

Data taken for sports in which Pakistan won medals.

Male Vs Female Players Performance:

Sports	No Of Players	Medals Won by	Winning Percentage
Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Male	Female
Athletics	3	2	5	1	0	33%	0
Wrestling	6	0	6	5	0	83%	0
Weightlifting	3	0	3	1	0	33%	0
Judo	2	0	2	1	0	50%	0

Data taken for sports in which Pakistan won medals.

Medals by sports

Sports	Medal Won by Sports	Total
2002	2004	2010	2014	2018	2022
Wrestling	1	0	3	2	3	5	14
Weightlifting	3	2	0		2	1	8
Athletics	0	0	0		0	1	1
Judo	0	0	0	1	0	1	2
Boxing	1	1	2	1	0	0	5
Hockey	1	1	0	0	0	0	2
Shooting	2	1	0	0	0	0	3
Total	8	5	5	4	5	8	35
Medals Ranking	19th	17th	17th	23rd	24th	18th

Wrestling has won the most medals in the last six CW competitions (2002–2022), followed by weightlifting and athletics. Given the equipment and coaching that are available for these activities, the performance put forth by the athletes in these sports is simply outstanding.

Arshad Nadeem the javelin thrower won the gold medal in the CW 2022 despite the fact that his coach was unavailable and that he had an elbow injury. All walks of life need to pay attention to these less glamorous sports. They should be given the same opportunities to compete as other sports by the governing bodies of sport and the government.

Weightlifting, which won the second-most medals over the course of the last six CW games, is a similar example. No amenities, no patronage. The players earned their medals through self-effort. The popularity of hockey as a national sport has never been lower. Therefore, the nation has enormous potential in every sport.

To foster their potential, it is necessary to build grounds and other amenities. Why not the wrestlers, weightlifters, athletes, and others who promote the nation get monthly salaries/contracts like the cricketers?

In the previous six CW games, female players haven't won any medals either despite the fact that female gamers were consistently present in significant numbers. They also require the required stipends, training facilities, and playing fields so they may focus on their games unencumbered by financial concerns.

If the PSL exists for cricket, why not for other sports? Diverting the right resources to these sports will have a hugely positive impact, including helping to improve the nation's image abroad.