Don’t expect a medal rush: Why India could look forward to a quiet Commonwealth Games in 2026

ByTech Word News

Whenever the Commonwealth Games is around the corner, there is always excitement as India looks to win medals. And why wouldn’t it be? India have been one of the most consistent nations at the Games in recent times, often challenging the very best right at the top.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2026: THE COMPLETE PROGRAMME

In 2022, India returned home with 61 medals to add to its total kitty. Of these, there were 22 gold, 16 silver and 23 bronze medals. This took India’s CWG total to 564, with 203 gold, 190 silver and 171 bronze medals. The buildup always looked exciting, tooas some of the best athletes traveled to showcase their talents on the big stage. (Credit: India Today)

But this time everything seemed to be a bit quiet. If you’re wondering where PV Sindhu is, she competed at the China Open alongside some big names in badminton.

The Indian hockey teams are gearing up for the men’s and women’s hockey world championships respectively, with no shooting contingent also traveling to Glasgow, Scotland.

INDIA AT THE 2022 COMMONWEALTH GAMES

Of the 61 medals India won in Birmingham, Wrestling bagged 12 medals. This meant that all 12 wrestlers brought home medals. Badminton brought six medals, three of which were gold. Table tennis won seven medals during the Birmingham edition, while hockey brought two and cricket one.

That is a total of 28 out of 61 medals, which were brought by just five sports disciplines. And this time there won’t be all these events.

Apart from this, the Games will not miss one of the biggest medal events in India, shooting. Shooting accounted for 135 of India’s 564 medals at the CWG, but has been out of the Games since 2018.

WHY THE EVENTS AT CWG 2026 WERE MADE

While there were 19 events in the previous edition, this time was reduced to just 10. The change was made after Victoria (Australia) decided to withdraw as host of the games due to the cost of balloons. This forced Glasgow to step in as a saviour, but with a drastically reduced budget and a simplified format. India at CWG 2022 (Credit: India Today)

The cuts meant some of India’s top medal hopes would have to stay home and watch from afar. Wrestling has 114 of India’s total medals in the CWG, with badminton bagging 31.

Table tennis was a source of joy with a total of 28 medals, while the current hockey teams would be fighting for a place on the podium.

GLASGOW CWG 2026: EVENTS

  • 3×3 Basketball and 3×3 Wheelchair Basketball
  • Artistic gymnastics
  • Athletics and para-athletics
  • Bowls and Para Bowls
  • Box
  • Judo
  • Netball
  • Swimming and para swimming
  • Track Cycling and Para Track Cycling
  • Weightlifting and para powerlifting

IS ALL HOPE LOST FOR INDIA?

Well, the answer to that is no. India will enter CWG 2026 with a strong athletics contingent that is ready to set the stage on fire.

The world-class events will be headlined by Neeraj Chopra chasing gold in the javelin. Long jumper Murali Sreeshankar will be a solid medal contender along with some of the top prospects in the triple jump and high jump. Neeraj will be hoping to secure the javelin gold (Courtesy: PTI)

Distance pacers Parul Chaudhary and Gulveer Singh can also bring success to India. Gurindervir Singh and Animesh Kujur will keep their battle for the title of fastest Indian away as they look to do the country proud in the 100m and 200m events.

The onus will then be on weightlifting, which is expected to be a big source of medals in Glasgow. The headliner will be defending CWG champion and Tokyo Olympics medalist Mirabhai Chanu, who will compete in the women’s 48kg category. Bindyarani Devi, Ajaya Babu and Gyaneshwari Yadav will assist Chan in the weightlifting medal run. Can Mirabhai Chanu bring home another gold? (Courtesy: PTI)

Boxing will also be the mainstay of India’s medal hopes at the CWG this year. Led by the legendary Lovlina Borgohain and reigning world champion Jaismine Lamboria, many Indian stars will enter the women’s divisions as top seeds.

The Lawn Bowls teams made history last time with gold and silver, with Pinki, Rupa Rani Tirkey and Dinesh Kumar expected to lead the way.

Judo can also be a source of excitement for the fans as Indian judokas won three medals last time and will be chasing a historic gold.

Para-athletics will also be a hope, but the same medal run may not be possible this time. With some of the big medal events cut short, India may struggle to break the 30-medal mark this time around, which would be their worst performance since 1998.

– The end

Published on:

23 Jul 2026 10:36 IST