Commonwealth Games: CWG 2022 officially declared closed; flag passed on to Governor of Victoria for 2026

Birmingham: The Commonwealth Games 2022 came to an end with a stunning closing ceremony at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on Monday. The Commonwealth Games flag was presented to the Governor of Victoria. The state of Victoria, Australia will be the next host of the Commonwealth Games in 2026. The Flag Handover Ceremony signified the official handover of the Commonwealth Games from Birmingham to Victoria, which will be the first multi-city Commonwealth Games in Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Gippsland. Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, declared the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games over. Birmingham 2022 has been the biggest Commonwealth Games ever - with more sporting events than ever before. More than 5,000 athletes have competed over the past 11 days. Gold medal-winning Table tennis player Achanta Sharath Kamal and boxer Nikhat Zareen led the Indian contingent as the Commonwealth Games 2022 closing ceremony was held in Alexander stadium in Birmingham. India finished 4th in the medal tally with 22 Gold, 15 Silver and 23 Bronze medals and with a total of 61 medals. CWG 2022 gold medallist PV Sindhu and the men’s hockey team captain Manpreet Singh were India’s flag bearers in the opening ceremony. India had a fruitful campaign at Birmingham 2022, winning 61 medals (22 golds, 16 silvers and 23 bronzes). Wrestling topped the medal chart with 12 medals including six golds while weightlifting accounted for 10 medals. The men’s hockey team won silver, which was the last Commonwealth Games 2022 medal for India in this edition. Australia topped the table with 178 medals (67 gold, 57 silver, 54 bronze), while hosts England finished the campaign in the second spot with 175 medals (56 gold, 65 silver, 53 bronze). From July 28 to August 8, nearly 200 Indian athletes competed for medals across 16 different sports at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.