BIRMINGHAM, July 29
A Commonwealth Games that once appeared doomed exploded into life with a dazzling opening ceremony on Thursday, putting a modern spin on a multi-sporting event often seen as a relic of the British Empire’s colonial past.
Ten years after the 2012 London Olympics, it was Birmingham’s moment in the spotlight as Prince Charles, reading a message on behalf of the Queen, contained in a baton that had travelled through all the 72 nations and regions of the Commonwealth, declared the Games open.
No one could deny Birmingham for giving itself a massive pat on the back for taking on the responsibility of staging the 2022 Games after Durban was stripped of hosting duties for failing to deliver on the promises made in its bid.
Instead of the usual six-seven years to prepare, Birmingham had four and that challenge was multiplied by the arrival of Covid. While the pandemic delayed the Olympics and the Asian Games, Birmingham pushed ahead, delivering on its promise of an on time, on budget project.
“I’m a Brummy and this is a great city founded by people who just got on with,” said Birmingham 2022 chair John Crabtree. “People just go on with it, that’s why we’re here frankly. Birmingham is a modest city that would like to have the spotlight on it for just a bit.”
Classic staples
The ceremony delivered all the classic staples of an opening night extravaganza from the parade of athletes to a shower of thundering fireworks.
But it was the high-tech storytelling of Stella and The Dreamers, a group of young athletes from around the Commonwealth who explore the Birmingham’s history representing a better, brighter future that provided the backbone of the two-and-a-half hour show.
While evening celebrated Birmingham’s cultural diversity and tolerance, Britain’s Olympics diving champion Tom Daley, who came out as gay in 2013, used the moment to remind everyone that some Commonwealth nations still enforce homophobic colonial-era laws.
Homosexuality is a criminal offence in 35 of the 56 nations that make up the Commonwealth where punishments include whipping, life imprisonment and the death penalty. Daley, who is not competing in Birmingham, ran the Queen’s baton into the darkened stadium as LGBTQ+ flags lined his path.
At the same time, the Birmingham Games will break new ground with more medals awarded to women (136) than men (134), a first for a multi-sport event.
Activist Malala Yousafzai, the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman and spent part of her recovery in Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital, also had message. “Every child deserves the chance to reach her full potential and pursue her widest dreams,” she said.
The evening began with a flyover by the Red Arrows and ended with West Midlands rock band Duran Duran revving up the crowd under a canopy of fireworks. — Reuters
Daley condemns homophobia
Britain’s Olympics diving champion Tom Daley has condemned homophobia across the Commonwealth nations on the eve of the opening ceremony. As part of a BBC documentary to be aired next month, Daley travelled to some of the Commonwealth’s most homophobic countries to highlight the discrimination faced by the LGBT+ community. “I’ve experienced homophobia all my life, competing in countries where it’s illegal to be me and where I don’t feel safe to leave the venue I’m competing in,” Daley, who came out as gay in 2013, said. “If I feel like that as a privileged man, I can’t imagine what day-to-day life is like for LGBT+ people around the Commonwealth. LGBT+ athletes must be safe and feel comfortable being their authentic selves without fear of persecution or death.” Reuters
Indians in action
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Athletics
Men’s marathon: Nitendra Singh Rawat 1:30pm
Boxing
Men’s 54kg-57kg Rd of 32: Hussamuddin Mohammed 5pm Women’s 66kg-70kg Rd of 16: Lovlina Borgohain 12am
Men’s 86kg-92kg Rd of 16: Sanjeet 1am
Badminton
Mixed team Group A: India vs Sri Lanka 1:30pm & India vs Australia 11:30pm
Artistic Gymnastics
Women’s team final and individual qualification: Ruthuja Nataraj, Protistha Samanta and Praniti Naik 9pm
Cycling
Women’s sprint qualifying: Mayuri Late, Triyasha Paul
Women’s 3000m individual pursuit qualifying: Meenakshi 2:30pm Men’s keirin first round: Esow Alben 8:30pm
Hockey
Women’s Pool A: India vs Wales 11:30pm
Swimming
Men’s 200m freestyle heats: Kushagra Rawat 3pm
Squash
Men’s singles Round of 32: Ramit Tandon; Sourav Ghosal 5pm Women’s singles Round of 32: Sunaya Sara Kuruvilla; Joshana Chinnapa 5:45pm
Table Tennis
Women’s team Group 2: India vs Guyana 2pm Men’s team Group 3: India vs Northern Ireland 4:30pm
Weightlifting
Men’s 55kg: Sanket Sargar 1:30pm Men’s 61kg: Gururaja 4:15pm Women’s 49kg: Mirabai Chanu 8pm Women’s 55kg: S Bindyarani Devi 12:30am
Lawn Bowls
Men’s triple: India vs Malta 1pm Women’s singles: Tania Choudhary vs Laura Daniels (Wales) 1pm Men’s pair: India vs Cook Islands 7:30pm Women’s four: India vs Canada 7:30pm
Short takes
India thrash Pak in badminton opener
India began their campaign with a 5-0 victory against Pakistan in badminton’s mixed team event. India eased to straight-game victories in all the five rubbers, with PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth comfortably winning their singles matches.
TT teams start with easy victories
The Indian men’s and women’s table tennis teams had easy starts to their respective campaigns with identical 3-0 victories. In a Group 3 encounter, the men beat Barbados, while the women eased past South Africa in Group 2.
Srihari in semis; Sajan, Kushagra falter
Indian swimmer Srihari Nataraj clocked 54.68 seconds to qualify for the semifinals of the men’s 100m backstroke event. The 21-year-old from Bengaluru was the third fastest swimmer in his heat and fifth fastest overall. However, seasoned Sajan Prakash and debutant Kushagra Rawat failed to advance to the semifinals. Prakash finished eighth in the heats of the men’s 50m butterfly event. Kushagra too finished last in the men’s 400m freestyle event.
Cycling teams fail to qualify for final
The Indian cyclists’ campaign began on a disappointing note with all the three teams failing to make the finals today. The men’s sprint team of Ronaldo Laitonjam, Y Rojit Singh and David Beckham Elkatohchoongo finished sixth in the qualification. The women’s sprint team of Shushikala Agashe, Triyasha Paul and Mayuri Luteended finished seventh. The men’s 4000m pursuit team of Venkappa Kengalagutti, Dinesh Kumar and Vishavjeet Singh finished sixth.
Tough day for Indians in lawn bowls
Tania Choudhary, in women’s singles, and the men’s triples team of Chandan Kumar Singh (skip) Navneet Singh (lead) and Mridul Borgohain (second) suffered losses on the opening day of the lawn bowls competition.
Yee gives England golden start
Alex Yee gave England a golden start, staging a dramatic late charge to win the men’s sprint triathlon. Olympics champion Flora Duffy of Bermuda retained her title. — Agencies
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