India's performance in the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games : expected or otherwise?

This paper reviews India's performance in the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games measured using four performance indicators – gold medals, total medals, total points (three for gold, two for silver and one for bronze) and market share (points won as a percentage of points awarded). It is argued that India over-achieved in 2010 on all four of these measures relative to what its performances in recent editions of the event might predict, even after accounting for likely home advantage. Whilst factors associated with competing at home may well have contributed to an elevated level of performance by Indian athletes at Delhi 2010, there is also some evidence to indicate that India is an improved sporting nation generally. Therefore, the authors propose that India's success in Delhi 2010 was the result of a potent combination of qualitatively stronger athletes and a strong host nation effect. The management implications of this research are two-fold. First, it is possible for nations to exercise control over certain advantages linked to hosting the event such as flexibility in the selection of sports contested. Second, non-host nations may be able to mitigate certain disadvantages through proper planning, for example, through acclimatisation programmes for their athletes and specialising in optional sports to be contested in forthcoming editions.