London/New Delhi. India’s chances of winning a medal at the Commonwealth Games have been dealt a blow as host city Glasgow has removed major sports like hockey, badminton, wrestling, cricket and shooting from the 2026 Games program and has included only 10 sports in it. Has been. Table tennis, squash and triathlon have also been dropped to limit costs. Nine sports included in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham will not be part of the next Games. These games will be held at only four places.
The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) said in a statement, “These Games will include 10 sports so that the nature of these Games can be maintained as a multi-sport event and financial and operational concerns can also be dealt with.” An attempt has been made to ensure a balance between these two.” “The sports program includes Athletics and Para Athletics (Track and Field), Swimming and Para Swimming, Artistic Gymnastics, Track Cycling and Para Track Cycling, Netball, Weightlifting and Para Powerlifting, Boxing, Judo, Bowls and Para Bowls,” the statement said. , 373 basketballs and 373 wheelchair basketballs have been included.” The Commonwealth Games will be held from July 23 to August 2 in 2026. Glasgow had previously hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2014.
According to the statement, “These games will be organized at four venues – Scotstown Stadium, Tollcross International Swimming Centre, Emirates Arena and Scottish Competition Complex (SEC). The players and their support staff will be accommodated in hotels.” This Commonwealth Games event is a big blow to India’s medal prospects, because before this they had won most of the medals in the sports which have been removed. Shooting was also removed from the Birmingham Games program and there was little hope of its return.
Announcing the Glasgow Games programme, CGF said, “The 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow will be held at four venues within a radius of eight miles. 10 sports have been included in these games.” Shooting has been left out of the program because in 2014 the sport was held at the Barry Buddon Center in Dundee, more than 100 km from Glasgow. Along with this, archery has also been ignored. This sport was last part of the Commonwealth Games in 2010 in Delhi.
Glasgow Green and the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, which hosted hockey and wrestling at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, have been removed from the list of venues, while the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, which hosted the badminton event that year, has been removed from the list this time only. Will host cycling.
Organizers justified limiting the Games to four venues, saying, “Cost and operational risks were the main factors for this.” Each location incurs additional costs for rent, security, transportation, etc. and also adds complexity to the work. Keeping all these things in mind, it was decided that adding additional space would be an expensive proposition.” The reason for hockey’s exclusion may also be that the Hockey World Cup will be held in Wavre, Belgium and Amstelveen, Netherlands from August 15 to 30, two weeks after these games end.
Earlier these games were to be organized in the Australian state of Victoria, but due to the increasing costs, it was withdrawn from hosting. After this Scotland agreed to host the games. Hockey’s exclusion from the Games will be a big blow to India. India’s men’s team has won three silver and two bronze medals, while the women have won three medals, including a historic gold at the 2002 Games.
In badminton, India has won a total of 31 medals including 10 gold, eight silver and 13 bronze medals. India had won 135 medals in shooting, which included 63 gold, 44 silver and 28 bronze. The country has won 114 medals in the wrestling competition, which include 49 gold, 39 silver and 26 bronze. Cricket was again included in the Commonwealth Games in 2022 in which the Indian women’s team won the silver medal. Para players have been a part of these games since 2002 and will continue to be in the next games also. CGF said, “Para sports will once again be given priority in sports. This time six para sports have been included in the sports programme.”
Indian sports community shocked by exclusion of medal winning sports from Commonwealth Games
India’s leading players and sports administrators are shocked and helpless at the blow to the country’s medal prospects with hockey, shooting, cricket, badminton and wrestling being dropped from the program of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The Games were held in the Scottish capital after Australia’s Victoria state withdrew from hosting the Games due to anticipated cost overruns. Only 10 sports have been included in these games.
Table tennis, squash and archery are also among the sports that have been removed from the programme. To reduce costs and avoid operational risks, these games will be organized at only four venues. However, the Indian sports community is surprised by this decision of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).
Table tennis veteran Sharath Kamal, who has won several medals in the Commonwealth Games in the last two decades, said, “It is extremely regrettable that table tennis has been removed from the Commonwealth Games programme. Unfortunately it is not part of the 10 sports that are included in the program. “This is a blow to all the sports that have been removed, especially table tennis in which we have won many gold medals.” Sharat’s partner G Sathiyan said, “This is disappointing. It’s amazing to see a mainstream sport like table tennis out. This is a huge blow to the Indian table tennis fraternity.” When Deepika Pallikal, one of the country’s best squash players, was contacted for her reaction, she expressed disappointment.
Deepika said, “Whenever it seems that we are taking a few steps forward for the sake of the game, we suddenly take two steps back. “It is definitely a big shock that our farm has not been included in the Commonwealth Games.” India had fielded 210 players in 16 sports at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022. In these games, he won 61 medals, of which 30 medals were won in those games which have been removed from the program of the next Commonwealth Games.
Hockey India General Secretary Bhola Nath Singh said, “Most of the sports in which India has been winning medals have been removed. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) should take up this matter. “On our part, we have raised our complaints with the FIH (International Hockey Federation) and they are taking up the matter with the CGF.” Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Sanjay Singh said, “It is definitely very disappointing. India has performed well in wrestling in the Commonwealth Games. This is definitely going to hurt the Indian wrestling community. We tried our best to convince CGF to keep the game in the programme. ,
Badminton Association of India General Secretary Sanjay Mishra said, “This is a shocking decision and a big blow to Indian sports, because we could have won 40 medals in the sports which have been removed. This is not just a loss for the game and the players. “This seems to be a conspiracy to sideline India’s growing sporting potential.” National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) chief Kalikesh Singh Deo said, ‘This will be a very different Commonwealth Games in which many of the popular sports which are an integral part of the Olympic Games will not be there. This will prove to be a very weak game.” He said, “We can only wish the best to those who will participate in these games. The Government of India, the Sports Ministry and the IOA made every possible effort to include sports in which India is traditionally strong.” Language Pant Mona