Medal winning athletes at the 2026 World Athletics U20 Championships in Oregon, USA, — Basant Kumar Meghwal, Ashish Yadav and Shahnavaz Khan — at a press conference in New Delhi, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026.
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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.

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?

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).

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

On June 27 evening, immediately after Sarvesh Kushare ended his four-year quest to better Tejaswin Shankar’s eight-year-old high jump National record of 2.28m at the National inter-state athletics meet at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar by clearing 2.31m, Tejaswin took to his ‘X’ handle to write: “Another mental barrier broken!! 2.30+ was probably the last of the sticky records. 2.34-35 is just a matter of time.”

Worlds and Olympics gold medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra endorsed Tejaswin’s statement, and Sarvesh’s achievement of becoming the first Indian to go past 2.30m, by reposting it.

With very few world-class marks to their name, Indian athletes’ hunger for success is understandable. Perhaps that appetite kept 30-year-old Sarvesh patient in the hunt to surpass the 2.30m barrier. He had missed it by a whisker when he recorded 2.28m at the Federation meet in Ranchi a month ago, before seeing his perseverance rewarded.

No excuse

“At 2.28m, my ankle slipped a little in Ranchi. I was in good condition. I still had a light injury. But I had to do it today. There was no excuse. The weather was good. The ground was also good. Overall, there was a lot of motivation. I also held the Asian Games qualifying mark for the first time. I’m improving — what more can I ask for!” said Sarvesh.

“My body felt good. My coach had said it would happen this time. I was determined. 2.30m was not happening despite my long-time effort to get it. So, I thought today I would do 2.31m. It was a lot of fun doing that,” said Sarvesh, as he displayed different antics as the bar went up and up and he kept sailing over it effortlessly.

“It was very difficult to go above 2.30m. If Tejaswin had not done 2.28m in 2018, I would not have come this far. I was also progressing slowly. Today, by the grace of God, everything went well. I have tried this during training, but I had not done it so well prior to today. Since our preparation was top-class, anything was possible.”

Now, 2.31m has placed Sarvesh as the joint fourth season leader in the world, along with British jumper Kimani Jack, and first in Asia, ahead of tied-sixth spot holders Japan’s Naoto Hasegawa and Tomohiro Shinno and Korea’s Sanghyeok Woo, who have all cleared 2.30m. “Everyone wants to win a gold medal at the Asian Games. I will also try to win one,” said Sarvesh.

Pressure under control

Sarvesh’s coach Jithin Thomas, a former Asian silver medallist with a personal best of 2.22m, shared his thoughts about the feat. “This time, the pressure was under control. I told him to stay focused and control the pressure. This time, the work was about that. I knew if we controlled the pressure, then the jump would happen.”

For Sarvesh, who competed in the Paris Olympics and was a finalist at the Tokyo World Championships last year, the right pace of his run-up did the trick. Apart from the requisite exercises, visualisation is a main activity in Sarvesh’s training.

“The difference was the run-up. Earlier, he used to pick up speed from the beginning and move uncontrollably. He was trying to speed up too early. Now, in the beginning, the speed was under control. Then gradually, it went up. He was trained that way. He needs to work on it. I told him, ‘Stay focused and you will clear it smoothly.’

“I told him that no one has done 2.30m in India. If you do 2.30m, your name will be up there as long as high jump is there in India.

Patience pays

“In high jump, there is a mark for everyone. Then it becomes stagnant. Some people pursue it for two-three years and leave it. If you have patience, then you will be able to improve it. Because Sarvesh had the patience, he could do it. There was this belief that he would do it, so now there is relief. It’s the greatest day of my life. “Because he had done (well earlier), he was after it. We were focused. We were careful that he should not pick up any injuries. There were small injuries. Still, we were focused. We kept talking about it. The mark kept improving and we were able to do it.”

With a smile, Sarvesh, who hails from a village near Nashik in Maharashtra, quipped, “He (Jithin) spoke very little to me this week. I don’t know what he was thinking.”

Sarvesh acknowledges that the support extended by his coach, his family, his employer the Indian Army, his sponsor OGQ, and the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) played a key role in his journey. “I am confident. If the training goes well and there are no injuries, then confidence will increase. If everyone’s support is there, then we can go ahead. Especially my coach, who has not taken any leave for seven months, and my family members are very supportive. That’s why I am able to do it. Otherwise, I would have been disturbed.”

Sarvesh is happy to note that Indian jumpers, including women’s National record holder Pooja Singh — who, like Sarvesh, trains at the Anju Bobby George Academy in Bengaluru — are doing well. “Yes, it did impact me mentally that Pooja broke the National mark. She set a record of 1.93m. We were thinking that we would do well. She made a National record before me. I did it after her. Dev Meena is also doing well in pole vault. He is also breaking National records. This is a good year for jumpers.” Needless to say, long jumpers Ancy Sojan, who broke Anju’s 22-year-old National record, and M. Sreeshankar and Shahnavaz Khan, who achieved his season best, are also among the Indians who have achieved world-class marks this season.

Encouraging sign

Even in men’s high jump, the presence of some good athletes, including Tejaswin, Adarsh Ram, and Basant, is an encouraging sign. “A pool of jumpers should be there — only then can there be improvement. Otherwise, Sarvesh will be alone. Whoever achieves something first, his name remains up there,” said Jithin.

After breaching the 2.30m peak in June, Sarvesh became the first Indian high jumper to earn a podium, by finishing third with a mark of 2.26m, on his Diamond League debut in Monaco on July 10. Now, Sarvesh and his coach Jithin are bubbling with confidence while eyeing higher marks and glorious medals in the upcoming Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. “I hope Sarvesh maintains his focus and patience. He will go far,” said Jithin.

Published – July 15, 2026 11:56 pm IST

Even as cut-throat competition gives elite athletics meets an elevated status, tales of camaraderie pleasantly break the monotony by adding a human element to them.

Enduring visuals of Mutaz Essa Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi sharing the men’s high jump gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Belgian steeplechaser Tim Van de Velde sacrificing his own position to help Colombia’s Carlos San Martin finish the race at the 2025 World Athletics Championships, and Robson De Oliveira and Aaron Beggs carrying an exhausted Ajay Haridasse over the line at this year’s Boston Marathon evoked impromptu appreciation from spectators in recent times.

Tight contests, tight bonds

However, such instances are not restricted to international athletics alone. Top-level competitions in India have also seen fine examples of keen contests and close companionship. The recently held Federation meet at Birsa Munda Stadium, Morabadi, Ranchi, featured high-level performances as well as excellent displays of comradeship among athletes.

The close duel between female long jumpers Ancy Sojan and Shaili Singh, the intense rivalry between national record holder Gurindervir Singh and Animesh Kujur in the men’s 100m, and the battle of one-upmanship between training partners and eventual joint national record holders Dev Meena and Kuldeep Kumar in the men’s pole vault do not necessarily mean they are bitter opponents off the field. Rather, they offer exceptional case studies of bonding between athletes.

For Ancy, who wholeheartedly cheered for her closest competitor Shaili in the background prior to the latter’s attempts, rivalry is not equivalent to enmity.

“I don’t consider my competitors as enemies. I just see them as friends. I always cheer for them. Because they are focused, they also try hard. So I wanted to motivate Shaili and help her do her best. That’s why I cheer for her. It is a good thing to cheer for your rivals,” says Ancy, who won the event.

Gurindervir is delighted that his mouthwatering showdowns on the track with Kujur, which are built on a strong foundation of brotherhood, bring eyeballs to athletics.

“I have been waiting for this for a long time. Our sport, sprinting, and athletics should get visibility. Every person enjoys watching a rivalry. When Animesh runs well, I feel that I have to run better. I have to do more hard training. When I run well, Animesh feels that he has to train even harder. We get motivation from each other,” says Gurindervir, who became the first Indian to go below 10.10 seconds when he won gold.

“We are good friends. We are room-mates. We are brothers. We are competitors. When we train, we are training partners. When we go out, we are friends.”

Gurindervir’s coach James Hillier feels such healthy competition — the national record changed hands twice in the semifinals before Gurindervir’s historic 10.09s run in the final — augurs well for sprinting in the country.

“It’s a great rivalry, and in a way it probably helped Gurindervir that Animesh broke the record [10.17] in the semifinals [clocking 10.15 within minutes of Gurindervir breaking Kujur’s previous record of 10.18]. It took a bit of the limelight off him and the pressure was sort of back on Animesh. It’s really bringing Indian sprinting down [in terms of time],” says Hillier.

Coming from the same stable, Madhya Pradesh Athletics Academy (MPAA), pole vaulters Meena and Kuldeep are brothers in arms. They train together under coach Ghanshyam Yadav, carry their poles and travel together while challenging each other to the best of their ability. Ultimately, the success one achieves makes the other happy, as they believe their teamwork will help them attain excellence. Coincidentally, the two were tied at 5.45m and shared the new national record at Ranchi.

“We will continue to fight with each other so that we can raise the level,” says Meena.

Kuldeep, who joined the MPAA a year ago, was welcomed by the already established Meena, as he saw that pushing the mark alone was a difficult task for him.

Victory through harmony

“We will do better in the future. It is a very technical sport. We are working on it. We are learning more and more with each passing day. If we learn and improve, it will be very good for both of us. We fight during our training. We fight during competitions. We support each other. We go ahead of each other. We are good friends. We should work to bring laurels for the country,” says Kuldeep.

While complementing each other, they have no hesitation in appreciating each other’s strengths.

“Dev’s technique is good. I think his competition mindset is good. I won’t say mine is bad either. I give him a good fight,” says Kuldeep.

“Kuldeep has a powerful body. I have got speed,” notes Meena.

Their coach Ghanshyam Yadav loves his two obedient trainees. “They are training together and competing with each other. Their communication with me is very good. If you say something to them, they will listen to you. They are training together and using the same pole,” says Yadav.

Acknowledging the media’s role in highlighting the plight of his wards while travelling with poles on a train in January and making their lives a little easier, Yadav dreams of guiding Meena and Kuldeep to greater glory and transforming pole vault into a well-known sport in India.

“We are trying to take the pole vault to a new height. Like Neeraj Chopra, who highlighted javelin by shining at the Olympics, we also want to take pole vault to that level,” says Yadav.

If the Federation meet was full of high-class performances and great camaraderie, it also had an aberration in the form of an undesirable feud between 40-year-old Olympian Sandeep Kumar and 18-year-old promising athlete Nitin Gupta in the men’s 10,000m racewalk.

After Gupta won the race comfortably, beating second-placed Sandeep, the two Army athletes, who train under different coaches, exchanged pleasantries and posed for photographs.

However, in a behind-the-scenes tussle for success, Sandeep filed a complaint against Gupta for receiving assistance from fellow competitors during the race. In the end, Gupta was disqualified for breaching World Athletics technical rules and Sandeep was crowned champion.

While different coaches present at the venue had varied opinions about the episode, it exposed intra-departmental competitiveness which not only created an unfriendly environment but also ended up being a disheartening experience for an emerging talent.

Of course, one can draw parallels to such incidents of bitter rivalry in international athletics over the decades, including Sebastian Coe versus Steve Ovett at the 1980 Moscow Olympics and Mary Decker versus Zola Budd at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Grace under pressure

No matter how much athletes push themselves to the limit and put their composure through stern tests, instances of companionship, a genuine emotion prevailing in humanity, will always outnumber examples of bitter competitiveness not only in track and field but also in sport at large.

As the 2026 calendar gears up for more intensity, with events such as the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games promising top-class action, one can only hope to see an atmosphere of fellowship in a world divided by conflicts.