Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2026 – Artifex.News

Can Indian athletes punch up in the scaled-down Commonwealth Games?

admin — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 17:17:00 +0000

Victoria’s decision to pull out of hosting the Commonwealth Games (CWG) in July 2023, citing unsustainable costs, plunged the multi-sport event into uncertainty.

There were fears that the 2026 Games might not be held at all. For nearly a year, the search for a replacement host went on.

Gold Coast, the 2018 host, along with Singapore and Malaysia, figured prominently before Glasgow officially stepped up to host the event in September 2024, returning after its successful staging of the 2014 Games.

Realising the spiralling organising costs, Glasgow tactfully cut the number of disciplines to 10 across four venues, a considerable reduction from Birmingham 2022 where 19 sports were staged across 15 venues. In many ways, the Glasgow Games beginning on July 23 can be credited with saving the Games from losing its relevance.

Describing it as the ‘Reimagined Games’, George Black, Chair, and Phil Batty, Chief Executive Officer, Glasgow 2026, wrote: “Glasgow 2026 is being realised with 150 million pounds of investment. The competition is being entirely privately funded. A self-sustaining, ground-breaking Games delivery model.”

It might be a scaled-down Games, but make no mistake there will be no shortage of star power, including Olympic medallists, world champions and reigning CWG title-holders.

Leading India’s charge will be Tokyo Olympics gold medallist and former world champion Neeraj Chopra in the men’s javelin. The Indian ace will be challenged by Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, the Paris Olympic champion and defending CWG titlist.

Neeraj Chopra.
| Photo Credit:
REUTERS

The athletics arena will be headlined by Scotland’s reigning world mile record holder Josh Kerr, and England’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson, the 2023 world champion and Paris Olympics silver medallist in the heptathlon.

Jamaica’s Danielle Williams, the 2023 world champion in the women’s 100m hurdles, and Kenya’s Faith Cherotich, the Paris Olympics bronze medallist in the women’s 3000m steeplechase, are among the biggest names set to light up Glasgow.

India’s medal hopes in athletics will rest on Avinash Sable (3000m steeplechase), Tejaswin Shankar (decathlon), M. Sreeshankar (long jump), Abdulla Aboobacker (triple jump), Parul Chaudhary (5000m and 10,000m), Jyothi Yarraji (100m hurdles) and Annu Rani (women’s javelin throw). Will Indian athletes be able to overhaul their 2022 medal tally of eight or surpass their best medal haul of 12 from the 2010 home CWG?

Jyothi Yarraji.
| Photo Credit:
FILE PHOTO: BISWARANJAN ROUT

A sizeable share of India’s medals will also come from boxing and weightlifting. At Birmingham, Indian boxers won seven medals while the weightlifters returned with 10.

In the boxing ring, Lovlina Borgohain, the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist, will be looking for her maiden CWG medal. The others to keep an eye on are Jaismine Lamboria (57kg) and Sachin Siwach (60kg).

Mirabai Chanu.
| Photo Credit:
FILE PHOTO: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP

In weightlifting, Mirabai Chanu (48kg) will be aiming to complete a historic hat-trick of CWG gold medals. Harjinder Kaur (71kg), Vikas Thakur (89kg), Bindyarani Devi (58kg), Gyaneshwari Yadav (53kg) and S. Sanjana (63kg) are among India’s other leading medal hopes.

Transforming fortunes

The Games had transformed the fortunes of several Indian sportspersons in ways even they scarcely could have imagined. Sharath Kamal, Mirabai and Manika Batra are among the finest examples.

Will the ‘Reimagined Games’ produce a few more young Indian stars?

Published – July 22, 2026 10:47 pm IST

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Pullela Gopichand interview: Badminton’s Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games exclusion, new scoring rules and synthetic shuttlecocks, backs Sattwiksairaj Rankireddy and more

admin — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 14:07:00 +0000

Strong opinion: Gopi Chand believes there was no need to change the 21-point format to the new 3×15 scoring system.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO: K. MURALI KUMAR

The Commonwealth Games (CWG) have traditionally been one of India’s most productive multi-sport events, with the country consistently returning with a healthy medal haul. But at Glasgow 2026, India’s prospects have taken a hit after several sports, including badminton, were dropped from the programme, with organisers holding cost management responsible for the trim.

The decision, understandably, has not gone down well within India’s badminton community, with chief national coach P. Gopi Chand among those disappointed.

“Commonwealth was an important event and badminton not being there in Glasgow was quite shocking. It’s done and dusted for this edition, but we are hoping that in our edition in Ahmedabad (2030), we would have badminton featuring back again. Indian players are stronger than ever, so we do expect some medals from the event as well,” he said in an interaction organised by the Sports Authority of India.

“From an athlete’s perspective, Asian Games are tough for some events, but also there are some events where the participation of countries like Australia, England and Jamaica makes the standard of the Commonwealth Games higher than the Asian Games.”

The CWG is not the only area where badminton has seen change. The sport has also introduced proposals that have split opinion, including a new scoring system and trials involving synthetic shuttlecocks.

“What’s the point of complaining when it’s done? That’s one of the reasons why I haven’t spoken against it,” he quipped.

“For me, the sport has been very, very exciting in the last few years. We have tournaments filled with crowds. The calendar is packed with tournaments, and there was no need for us to mess with the system,” Gopi Chand said, talking about the new 3×15 scoring system replacing the traditional 21-point format.

The 52-year-old was, however, more receptive to the prospect of synthetic shuttlecocks, citing the need to make the sport more sustainable.

Gopi Chand also weighed in on Satwiksairaj Rankireddy’s remarks about the lack of recognition for badminton players after India’s Thomas Cup bronze medal-winning team returned home to a subdued reception.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty said their remarks on the lack of recognition for India’s historic Thomas Cup triumph were aimed at sparking a larger conversation around badminton in India.

The duo had earlier expressed disappointment over the relatively muted… pic.twitter.com/60176wwnhI

— Sportstar (@sportstarweb) May 14, 2026

Satwik’s comments sparked debate, prompting him to later clarify that he was not asking for “money or grand parades” but simply urging people “to celebrate every win, big or small” across all sports.

“In a lot of ways, I endorse what Satwik said. It’s unfortunate that one of the best players the country has ever produced, especially in doubles, feels that way. We’ve never had anybody reach anywhere close to where they have reached. What he said is genuine. To have them win something big and then not get the recognition which they feel they should is unfortunate,” he explained.

“That said, I genuinely would love to see badminton and other sports being recognised more. But unfortunately, ground reality is that it doesn’t happen. Everybody should lend a hand to ensure that these players’ performances are portrayed better and the visibility is more, so that it is not just fans watching them but also the younger kids taking them as role models and we produce better players for the future.”

(Watch the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games live and exclusive on Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV).

Published – July 19, 2026 11:45 pm IST

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