India's 2026 Commonwealth Games Challenge: Why Scaled-Down Glasgow Edition Poses a Major Hurdle

In archery, the Indian men's recurve team, comprising Dhiraj Bommadevara, Tarundeep Rai, and Atanu Das, won a silver medal at the 2025 World Cup. While India dominated the compound section, the women's team and Jyothi Surekha Vennam won silver medals in the compound team and individual competition.

The country did well in the 2025 Summer World University Games, winning 12 medals, including two gold and five silver, in the top multi-discipline, multi-nations competition held this year.

Though Neeraj Chopra failed to retain his gold medal in the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, he made history by breaching the 90m mark in javelin throw when he hurled the spear to 90.23m in the Doha Diamond League, winning silver medal and won gold medals in the Golden Spike Ostrava and NC Classic, through which he became an event organiser, and won silver in the 2025 Diamond League Final.

Though badminton was a blip on the record book, apart from the top men's doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, others failed to produce consistent results and win many medals.

Cricket provided a major uplift to Indian sport with the men's team winning the Champions Trophy and the women making history by clinching their maiden ODI World Cup at home.

Olympic medallist Mirabai Chanu bagged gold in the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Ahmedabad, lifting a record-breaking total of 193 kg. Priteesmita Bhoi and Dharamjyoti Dewghariya also won gold medals in women's 44-48 kg and men's 56-60 kg events, respectively.

India did well in para-sports too, winning six gold medals in the first World Para Athletics Championships held in India, finishing with 22 medals overall. But that's all done and dusted now -- the year 2026 brings new challenges in multi-disciplinary sports.

The 2026 Commonwealth Games -- the 23rd edition of the Games will be organised in Glasgow, which hosted the Games in 2014, in which India won 64 medals, including 15 gold medals.However, performing well in the 2026 Glasgow edition of the Commonwealth Games will be very challenging because the upcoming edition will be a scaled-down version of the usual Games.

To be held from July 23 to August 2, Glasgow 2026 will have competitions in 10 sports -- athletics, 3x3 basketball, bowls, boxing, gymnastics, judo, netball, swimming, track cycling, and weightlifting.

The bigger issue that will impact India's medal tally in the 2026 edition is the absence of sports like shooting, badminton, table tennis, and wrestling -- that the Indians have dominated at the Commonwealth level over the years. These sports are not among the 10 events on the programme -- instead, the schedule includes 3x3 basketball, bowls, gymnastics, netball, swimming, and track cycling, which are not the strong points of the country. Because of 10 sports, the overall medals on offer are fewer than usual.

Thus, the Indians will have to travel to Glasgow with low expectations as competitions will be held in Athletics (43 disciplines) and para-athletics (16); 3x3 basketball for men and women along with 3x3 wheelchair basketball; bowls and para bowls, boxing, gymnastics including artistic gymnastics; judo (14 medals), Netball, swimming and para-swimming, track cycling and para track-cycling, besides weightlifting and para-weightlifting.

Some events in athletics (marathons and race walking) and cycling (mountain bike and road cycling) have also been dropped. Besides, several sports programmes have seen changes in their formats. In some cases, the number of quotas has increased; in other cases, a new variety will be played for the first time.

Athletics will have a mixed 4x400m race, while the mile has replaced the 1500m discipline.Though the reduced number of sports and disciplines will impact India's medal count, a rich haul in the 2026 Glasgow is necessary as India is the lone bidder for the 2030 Games, and Amdavad (Ahmedabad) has been recommended by the executive board of the Commonwealth Sport to the general assembly.

Glasgow 2026 will provide India with the best test for the new competitions and the funding increase. It is now up to the competitors to show results at the global level.

- IANS