Last Updated on 2 years by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: Will India women win the 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medal? | India aiming to win gold at 2022 Games
Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana has expressed excitement about participating in the Commonwealth Games (CWG) as cricket returns to the international multi-nation tournament after 24 years.
The 26-year-old mentioned that the Indian squad will strive to win the gold medal in the Games that will commence in Birmingham from 28 July.
We are aiming for gold – India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana
“Really excited to be part of the Commonwealth games. I think it is something very new for me and our team. We’ve never experienced going out and playing a tournament where other sports are also involved. So, I’m definitely looking forward to it,” the southpaw was quoted in a report by CricBuzz.
“We all know the feeling because we’ve all watched the Commonwealth and Olympics, when the Indian flag goes higher and we hear the national anthem… everyone knows that feeling and definitely we are aiming for gold. I don’t think we’ll look for just a podium finish because when the flag goes higher and the national anthem plays, that’s the best feeling,” Mandhana explained to the aforementioned website.
Commonwealth Games 2022 format
Eight sides will be participating in the women’s event with the teams being segregated in two groups of four countries each.
England automatically qualified for the Games as they are hosting the upcoming edition of the CWG. The next five teams, i.e., Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Pakistan qualified on the basis of their standings in the ICC Women’s T20 Rankings.
West Indies could have taken the next spot but their place was to be determined by a regional qualifier as the team is made up of a group of nations. However, the qualifiers could not take place due to the Covid-19 pandemic and their spot was taken by Barbados as they were the winners of the most-recent Twenty20 Blaze that took place in 2019.
A Commonwealth Games Qualifier (CWQ) was held at the Kinrara Oval in Malaysia to select the eighth team for the tournament. Sri Lanka won that tournament undefeated and are now set to compete in Group B with the likes of England, South Africa and New Zealand.
Group A: Australia, Barbados, India, Pakistan
Group B: England, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka
The top-placed team from both the groups will play against the second-placed side of the opposite group in the Semi Finals. The losers of the Semi Finals will contest each other in the third-place playoff for the bronze medal.
The final will be conducted on 7th August. India’s campaign will begin against Australia on 29th July.
Cricket last featured in the CWG as a 16-team men’s tournament in Malaysia back in 1998. South Africa, Australia and New Zealand had clinched the gold, silver and bronze medals respectively. Women’s cricket will continue to feature in CWG 2026 that will be conducted in Victoria in Australia.
