Glasgow CWG: Despite axed sports, India hold their top-five ground
Mumbai: The last time India finished outside the five best performing nations at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) was before the turn of the century, at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur edition. India’s fourth-place finish in the medals table of the 2026 Glasgow CWG, in that sense…
But in a 10-sport edition that had no takers until a last-minute scramble and was heavily downsized with most of the country’s traditionally strong sports axed, the Indian contingent in Glasgow still managed to stand its ground. And that India still managed to keep.
That included wrestling (12 medals), table tennis (7), badminton (6), squash (2), hockey (2) and cricket (1). The drop from Birmingham to Glasgow could have been steep.
What Happened
Instead, India held relatively firm – propelled by the medal rush in the final stretch and medals from para sports, particularly para athletics from an Indian lens, getting integrated to the overall volume. Leading the way were boxing, athletics and, the surprise.
Mumbai: The last time India finished outside the five best performing nations at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) was before the turn of the century, at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur edition.
India’s fourth-place finish in the medals table of the 2026 Glasgow CWG, in that sense, may seem par for the course.
It’s a statement that also augers well for what’s to come at the end of the next four-year cycle – the 2030 CWG in Ahmedabad where India will eye a bigger push on home.
Key Details
Even with an asterisk of the level and competitiveness of the sport at the CWG, boxing delivered for India, and how. Glasgow’s Scotstoun Stadium saw the most number of Indians step on to the podium.
After the last home CWG in New Delhi in 2010, where the hosts crossed the 100 mark, India’s total medals hovered between 60 and 70 across the next three editions.
After the last home CWG in New Delhi in 2010, where the hosts crossed the 100 mark, India’s total medals hovered between 60 and 70 across the next three editions.
That India held firm despite weightlifting somewhat losing its grip – one of the country’s most productive CWG disciplines went from 10 medals and 3 gold in 2022 to 8 medals and 1 gold.
Why It Matters
India’s track and field group doubled the medals from Birmingham (8) to Glasgow (16). Unlike Birmingham, though, this included para athletics, where Indians won six medals, and more significantly, all three gold.
From three gold medals each in 2018 and 2022, boxers pooled in more than double of that (seven), and half of the contingent’s overall gold count in Glasgow.
The upcoming Asian Games, though, will be a clearer assessment ground of where the boxers are truly at, especially with the bigger picture of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
What Reports Say
Coverage of the story so far points to:
A champion from among able-bodied athletes may not have come (there was one each in 2022, 2018 and 2014) but the double-digit medals reflect the continued growth of Indians in athletics, which still maintains.
If Avinash Sable’s 3,000m steeplechase silver in Birmingham broke a long-standing Kenyan clean sweep in that event, Gulveer’s 5,000-10,000m double in Glasgow set new ground for an Indian distance runner.
Continued reporting by Hindustan Times as more details emerge
