- It is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations.
- It is the third largest multi-sport event in the world, after the Olympic Games and the Asian Games.
- It was formerly known as formerly the British Empire Games (1930-1954), British Empire and Commonwealth Games (1954-1970), and British Commonwealth Games (1970-1978).
- The event was first held in 1930 at Canada were eleven nations took part. It has taken place every four years ever since except in 1942 and 1946 which were cancelled due to the Second World War.
- Nigeria was the first country to boycott the Commonwealth Games in 1978 in protest over New Zealand’s sporting contacts with South Africa.
- In 1986 the Games was boycott by 32 African and Caribbean nations in protest to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s refusal to condemn sporting contacts of Apartheid era South Africa in 1985.
- Only six teams have attended every Commonwealth Games: Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales.
- There are a total of 21 sports and seven para-sports which are approved by the Commonwealth Games Federation.
- The sports are categorized into three types. The Core, The optional and the Recognized. The Core sports must be included on each program. The optional may be picked by the host nation. But it has to be approved by the Commonwealth Games Federation.
- India participated in the commonwealth games for the 1st time in 1934 and after Independence in 1954.
- Australia leads the all times medals tally chart with 2080 medals (803gold, 673 silver and 604 bronze) followed by England and Canada.
- India ranks 4th in all times medal tally chart with 379 medals (145 Gold, 124 silver and 110n bronze).
- India organized the Commonwealth Games for the 1st time in 2010. It was the XIXth Commonwealth Games.
- XXth Commonwealth Games 2014 is scheduled to be held at Glasgow, England. The XXIth Commonwealth games, 2022 is scheduled to be held at Gold Coast Australia.
Need help? Leave a comment...