Commonwealth Games 2006

The host city of the 18th Commonwealth Games 2006 was Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. The games were held from the 15th of March till the 26th of March, 2006. It is one of the most important sporting events of the world. Held every four years, this event was initially known as the British Empire Games.

The venue of the opening and closing ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games was the Yarra River and the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The games were inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II, the Head of the Commonwealth. The closing ceremony of the Games was presided over by Prince Edward.

The official mascot of the Melbourne Commonwealth Games 2006 was named Karak. Karak was a black colored Cockatoo with a red tail. Plan International Australia was the goodwill partner of the games. It was in this year that, for the first time, a goodwill partner was appointed for the games.

As many as 71 countries participated in the XVIII Commonwealth Games. In total as many as 247 events were held in 16 sports in that year's games. Of the 16 sporting events, 4 were team sports and 12 were individual sports. Records show that around 4500 athletes participated in the Commonwealth Games of 2006.

The different sports that were held in the 2006 Commonwealth Games were:

• Athletics
• Cycling
• Triathlon
• Badminton
• Squash
• Boxing
• Gymnastics
• Hockey
• Shooting
• Netball
• Rugby
• Basketball
• Swimming
• Diving
• Synchronized Swimming
• Weightlifting
• Table Tennis
• Lawn Bowls

Australia topped the medal tally with 221 medals, which included 84 gold medals, 69 silver and 68 bronze medals. England was second with 110 medals-36 gold, 40 silver and 34 bronze. India featured 4th in the list. India had 50 medals to its credit of which 22 were gold, 17 were silver and 11 were bronze. Kunjarani Devi Nameirakpam of India won the gold in weightlifting. Canada had won 86 medals in the games. Zimbabwe did not feature among the participating countries of the games.

Last Updated on : 4 October 2010