CWG Gold Rush: What you didn’t know about the Indian stars

Vikas Gowda

He won a gold in men’s discus throw in Glasgow. Born in Mysore, Gowda migrated to Maryland in the United States at a young age. The 31-year-old’s father, Shive, coach of the 1988 Indian Olympic track team, pushed Gowda to take up athletic.



Dipika Pallikal & Joshna Chinappa

They won India’s first ever gold in squash at CWG. Pallikal’s middle name is Rebecca. She hails from a Malayali Syrian Christian family and is engaged to cricketer Dinesh Karthik. Chinappa is the first beneficiary of Mittal Champions Trust and has confessed that she is terrified of visiting the dentist.


Parupalli Kashyap

This Hyderabadi created history by becoming the first Indian shuttler to win a gold medal in the men’s singles in 32 years. He was diagnosed with asthma at a young age and has to get the Therapeutic Use Exemption certificate from WADA for his medication.



Abhinav Bindra

Bindra won gold in the Men’s 10m air rifle singles event. The Punjabi shooter holds a BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration) from the University of Colorado, USA and is the CEO of Abhinav Futuristics, the only distributor of Walther arms in the country.



Sathish Kumar Sivalingam

He set a new Games record for his lift of 149 kg in the snatch, in the 77 kg category and won a gold medal. Incidentally, Sivalingam’s father was a weightlifter at the national level and spurred him on to take it to the international level.