“Had Goosebumps when Neeraj Chopra won it, we have the opportunity to be there”: Smriti Mandhana gunning for gold at CWG 2022

Written by Rahul Pandey
|

Updated: July 22, 2022 2:23:30 pm

Just like Neeraj Chopra at the Tokyo Olympics, the India women's cricket team vice-captain, Smriti Mandhana wishes to experience a gold medal podium finish with her teammates at the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. (Photos: Reuters/ ICC on Twitter)

Just like the rest of India, Smriti Mandhana had goosebumps watching Neeraj Chopra wear the gold medal, standing at the Tokyo Olympics podium with the national anthem playing at the stadium. The India women’s team vice-captain now wants to experience the same going into the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

“I had literally got goosebumps when Neeraj Chopra got it (gold medal) in Olympics, so we have an opportunity to be there and triumph,” the 26-year old said in a press conference ahead of the team’s departure to Birmingham for the Games.

💬 💬 We are aiming for Gold Medal at the Commonwealth Games: #TeamIndia vice-captain @mandhana_smriti. 👍 👍#B2022 pic.twitter.com/7Tsovu3Y12

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) July 22, 2022

“I don’t think we’ll just look for a podium finish because when the flag goes higher and the national anthem plays, it’s the best feeling.”

It is an alien feeling for a cricket team to contest for a medal rather than a trophy. And the stylish southpaw batter is imagining  India doing the same in their first Commonwealth Games.

“We haven’t had experience of playing CWG, where we will be striving to get a gold medal because we always have imagined us lifting the trophy and trying to put us on the podium where we lift the trophy. Now we have to imagine going on the podium and getting a medal. It’s something very new.”

Top Sports News Now

• World Championships: Neeraj Chopra aces qualifying with 88.39 metres in Round 1, makes final
• Flo-Jo, the woman that even the fastest living woman Shericka Jackson couldn't beat
• World Championships: How faster arm speed is helping Neeraj Chopra throw further

Click here for more

With cricket making its debut in the upcoming edition of the CWG, Mandhana is also looking forward to interacting with other athletes in the village about their diet and training regime.

“It is something very new for me and also the team,” she said. “We’ve never experienced going out and playing a tournament where other sports are also involved. I don’t have anyone in particular but I would just like to have conversations with different athletes, knowing what kind of training they do and all of that stuff. We did that a little when we did a show in the lockdown and we got a lot of takeaways. Meeting them in person would be amazing. Trying to know their game, share the experiences, I think that would be amazing.”

Players from the Indian squad recently underwent a skills and fitness camp on the back of a successful tour of Sri Lanka where they won the T20I and ODI series (2-1 and 3-0 respectively). Mandhana is optimistic of the team’s and her own preparations over the course.

“Sri Lanka was a really good preparation for us, the ODIs and the T20s. We’ve also had a good fitness camp. A few girls have had a fitness camp, few girls have had a skills camp. We’ve been working on things that individually people need.”

“Wouldn’t term Australia as a big team”

The Indian team will play Australia in the opening match of the cricket tournament at the Birmingham games on Friday, July 29. A team that has played India a total of three times in the last T20 and ODI World Cup on their way to lifting both the trophies. Currently playing a tri-series in Ireland also featuring Pakistan, Australia walk into CWG 2022 as favorites for the gold. Mandhana however said, she, the and team aren’t looking at them as a bigger challenge than the rest.

“I would not term them a big team or a small team because I feel when you go out and play a T20 tournament, every team is equal,” she said.

Subscriber Only StoriesView AllPremiumRK/RKAY movie review: Rajat Kapoor film is meta several times overPremiumMP forest staff get ready but why cheetahs may not roam freePremiumPresidential polls: Cross-voting for Murmu bares cracks in Opposition unityPremiumIn IIMs, few SCs, STs admitted to PhD, pool shallow over the yearsSubscribe Now to get 66% OFF

“I think on that day, any team can beat any team. So I wouldn’t term Australia as a big team and make them feel good about that. I don’t think they are a big team. Definitely in our head, Australia, Pakistan and Barbados all three games are important and we’ll go as it comes. We want to go out there and win every match we can.”

Special offer
For your UPSC prep, a special sale on our ePaper. Do not miss out!

Buy now

📣 Join our Telegram channel (The Indian Express) for the latest news and updates

For all the latest Sports News, download Indian Express App.

• 
• The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
• 

• Tags:
• Commonwealth Games 2022
• Neeraj Chopra
• Smriti Mandhana

Subscribers Reading NowPresident-elect Droupadi Murmu: Raisina CallingOpinion: How Narendra Modi reshaped the BJPNaseeruddin Shah: A career through supporting rolesZubair bail order: SC draws red line on misuse of power to arrestUPSC Key-July 21: What to read and why for UPSC CSEOpinion: A troubling view of women is emerging CBSE Class 12 results: Noida girl gets a perfect score of 500/500‘India’s image being hampered’: AAP hits out at PM over Kejriwal’s Singapore trip5 things to know about Droupadi Murmu, President of IndiaRK/RKAY review: Rajat Kapoor film is meta several times overPremiumMoosewala murderBody of ‘shooter’ killed in encounter cremated in the dead of nightYou can fly Akasa Air from Aug 7; here are the routes, pricesKerala HC voices concern over rising child pregnancies, easy access to online pornMP forest staff get ready but why cheetahs may not roam freePremium200 crore vaccine doses is story of Atmanirbhar Bharat: MandaviyaWhat makes Shahidul Alam a name that worries the powerful elitePremiumGoogle Pixel 6a review: The software phoneSPONSOREDMadHat Season 5 Organized by Symbiosis Centre for Media and CommunicationLatest News 

• CBSE 12th Results: Board’s decision on unequal weightage for both terms draws mixed reaction from schools
• Coforge Q1 profit up 21 pc to Rs 150 cr
• Varun Gandhi questions Centre’s move to scrap train fare concession to elderly
• Everything to know about the ‘siren eye’ look which has taken over TikTok
• Kerala reports third case of monkeypox in India
• Self-managed or federation controlled? How CoA missed opportunity to align India’s football league structure with standard global practices
• Manish Sisodia most honest; BJP scared of AAP’s expansion: Arvind Kejriwal after LG calls for CBI probe into Delhi Excise Policy
• 100 days of KGF Chapter 2: Prashanth Neel thanks fans for massive success
• Six takeaways from Thursday’s January 6 US Capitol riot hearing
• ‘India’s image being hampered’: AAP hits out at PM over Arvind Kejriwal’s Singapore trip
• Delhi Metro: Map, routes, fares, train timings and more
• CBSE 10th Result 2022 LIVE Updates: Result declared, pass percentage dips to 94.40%