In a major setback for India’s medal prospects, cricket, field hockey, badminton, and wrestling have been excluded from the Commonwealth Games 2026 program in Glasgow, set to take place from July 23 to August 2, 2026.
The Commonwealth Games will return to the Scottish city after a 12-year absence, but the absence of some of India’s top medal-winning sports will likely dampen expectations for the event. The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) announced that the 2026 edition will feature only 10 sports across four venues situated within an eight-mile corridor, as reported by Olympics.com.
The sports included in the Glasgow 2026 itinerary are athletics (track and field), swimming, 3×3 basketball, track cycling, weightlifting, lawn bowls, artistic gymnastics, netball, boxing, and judo. The para variants of the first five sports will be part of the integrated para program at the 2026 CWG.
The four venues hosting the games will be Scotstoun Stadium, Tollcross International Swimming Centre, Emirates Arena (which includes the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome), and the Scottish Event Campus (SEC).
The list of sports for the 2026 CWG is noticeably slimmer compared to the 2022 edition held in Birmingham, which featured 20 sports. The excluded sports include hockey, cricket, badminton, wrestling, table tennis, diving, rugby sevens, beach volleyball, mountain biking, squash, and rhythmic gymnastics.
Shooting, which was previously removed from the Birmingham 2022 CWG program, has not been reinstated for the upcoming event.
Both shooting and wrestling have been strongholds for India at the CWG, with the nation securing 135 and 114 medals, respectively, including 63 and 49 gold medals. In the last edition, India won 12 medals in wrestling, comprising six golds, one silver, and five bronzes.
The exclusion of field hockey marks the first time the sport will be absent since its CWG debut in 1998. India holds a total of six medals in field hockey, split between the men’s and women’s teams, including one gold, four silvers, and one bronze, making it the second-most successful team in CWG history, behind Australia.
India also boasts an impressive record in badminton, table tennis, and squash at the CWG, having won 31 medals (including 10 golds), 28 medals (including 10 golds), and five medals (including one gold) across all editions of these sports. (ANI)