Hockey to wrestling, CWG drops 9 sports, dents India’s medal hopes

India’s performance at CWG 2026 is expected to be significantly impacted by the reshuffling of events. With limited strong gold medal contenders in sports other than athletics, para-athletics, boxing, and weightlifting, India’s medal count may suffer as a result.

In the 2022 Commonwealth Games, India clinched medals in six out of the 12 disciplines, accounting for 37 medals out of the total tally of 61. However, it was revealed on Tuesday that these same six disciplines will not be part of the lineup for the 2026 edition of the games.

In the upcoming 2026 CWG in Glasgow, badminton, cricket, hockey, squash, table tennis, and wrestling will not be part of the sporting events. This decision follows the exclusion of shooting and archery, two sports where Indians have traditionally excelled at the Commonwealth Games, from the 2022 edition in Birmingham.

In the upcoming 2026 edition, there will be 10 sports and around 3,000 athletes participating from July 23 to August 2. Compared to the previous Birmingham event with 19 sports and nearly 5,000 athletes, the Glasgow Commonwealth Games could be considered a more streamlined version.

The organizers of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow have announced that the upcoming sports program will feature a variety of events. These include athletics and para-athletics, boxing, bowls and para-bowls, swimming and para-swimming, artistic gymnastics, track cycling and para-track cycling, netball, weightlifting and para-powerlifting, judo, as well as 3×3 basketball and 3×3 wheelchair basketball.

India’s sports authorities strongly opposed the decision, drawing sharp criticism. Gagan Narang, a former Commonwealth Games medalist and member of the Indian Olympic Association’s executive council, expressed disappointment over the action.

Narang expressed empathy towards the shooters who had been gearing up for the event, highlighting his own dismay at the absence of certain disciplines, potentially lucrative for India in terms of winning medals, from the CWG 2026 lineup.

Pullela Gopichand, the renowned badminton icon and national coach, expressed profound dismay and dissatisfaction towards the verdict.

He emphasized the importance of speaking up and alerting the relevant authorities to safeguard the growth and inspiration of future generations through badminton. He underscored the need to prevent hasty judgments from reversing the hard-earned advancements in the sport.

Since 1966, badminton has consistently been a part of the CWG, with squash and hockey joining the program in 1998. Table tennis has been included in every Games since 2002. This decision is notable for the absence of any racquet sport in a multi-discipline event.

As it happened, marksmanship was part of the original schedule proposed by Victoria, who later relinquished their hosting duties citing excessive expenses. Glasgow entered the picture as a sudden substitute and omitted several competitions to ensure the Games stayed within budget.

The 2026 edition was initially planned to be held in an Australian state, but due to significant costs, the state withdrew its hosting. Glasgow, facing financial constraints, decided to limit the Games to only four venues. This approach marks a departure from the traditional method of selecting sports first and then constructing venues, as Glasgow opted to finalize the sports programme based on the existing venues.