This time it may be difficult for India to maintain its streak of being in the top-5 in the Commonwealth Games for the last two decades. The Commonwealth Games 2026 is going to start from 23rd July and will continue till 2nd August. This multi-sport event is being organized in Glasgow, Scotland. This is the smallest Commonwealth Games in the last three decades, in which due to cost-cutting, only ten sports events will be held at four venues and about 3000 players from 74 countries will try their luck.
The Games will formally begin with an opening ceremony on Thursday at the Ovo Hydro. Para sports events will also be held simultaneously in six of these sports. India has hopes of getting more medals in boxing, weightlifting and athletics.
Australia’s Victoria state was slated to host CWG 2026 but pulled out due to rising costs. Seeing the future of the Commonwealth Games in danger, Glasgow agreed to host it. The Scottish city, which had previously been host in 2014, has organized these games with a budget of about 160 million pounds, which is 60 percent less than the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The challenge before Glasgow is to prove that the Games can be held even on a low budget whereas the cuts in the Games have made the path difficult for India. India has been in the top-5 every time since the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. This time it seems difficult to achieve this due to absence of hockey, wrestling, badminton, table tennis and shooting. Almost half of India’s 61 medals came in these games in Birmingham. In such a situation, the responsibility has now fallen on athletics, boxing and weightlifting.
India has fielded a 32-member contingent in athletics which will participate in 22 medal events. It will be led by two-time Olympic medalist Neeraj Chopra. This time he will not enter as a strong contender for the medal but as a challenger. Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga is a strong contender in the Mace Javelin, who created a sensation by throwing a throw of 92.62 meters in the Rome Diamond League last month. Paris Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan is also in the race but Neeraj is also among the contenders.
India is hoping for medals from Sarvesh Kushare in high-jump, Murali Sreeshankar in long-jump and Praveen Chitravel in triple jump. Medals are also expected from the men’s and women’s 4×400 meter relay teams. India had won eight medals in athletics in Birmingham.
In weightlifting, eyes will be on Olympic silver medalist Mirabai Chanu. 31 year old Mirabai from Manipur has won gold medal in the last two Commonwealth Games. Only 11 players from India will participate in weightlifting, because many players have failed the dope test in the national camp, due to which India’s medal hopes have been reduced.
In boxing, Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain (75 kg) would like to win her first medal in the Commonwealth Games. Meanwhile, 57 kg world champion Jasmine Lamboria will be desperate to convert the bronze won in Birmingham into gold. Asian champion Preeti Pawar (54 kg), Sakshi Choudhary (51 kg) and Arundhati Choudhary (70 kg) are also among the contenders.
In the men’s category, there are expectations from Narendra Berwal (plus 90 kg) and World Cup medalist Sachin Siwach (60 kg). In lawn ball, India had won gold medal in women’s category and silver medal in men’s category in Birmingham and would like to repeat the same this time too. Three medals were won in Judo in the last Games, the aim will be to improve this. Para athletes are also expected to perform well. This time, para events in six sports are also being held simultaneously.
