India’s Sports Community Expresses Disappointment Over Exclusion of Medal-Winning Sports from 2026 CWG

India’s top athletes and sports administrators were left shocked and disheartened after the country’s medal prospects were significantly diminished due to the exclusion of key sports such as hockey, shooting, cricket, badminton, and wrestling from the pared-down roster for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Originally scheduled to be hosted in Victoria, the Games were moved to Glasgow following Victoria’s decision to withdraw as host due to rising costs. As a result, the 2026 Games will feature only 10 events—nine fewer than the 2022 Birmingham edition.

Along with the exclusion of the aforementioned sports, table tennis, squash, and archery will also be absent from the event, which has now been drastically reduced. The organizers have stated that limiting the Games to fewer events and only four venues will help manage financial and operational risks. However, the revised schedule has left the Indian sports community stunned and disappointed, as many of these sports have traditionally been strong contenders for medals.

“It’s a shocking news and very disappointing but it’s not in our hands,” said Harmanpreet Singh, under whose captaincy the Indian men’s hockey team won a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics in August.

Table tennis champion Sharath Kamal, who has secured numerous medals at the Commonwealth Games over the past two decades, acknowledged the significant impact the organizers’ decision could have on India’s overall medal count.

“It is a pity that table tennis has been taken off the CWG programme but the organisers have informed they had very short notice as it moved from Melbourne to Glasgow.

“Unfortunately it is not part of the 10 sports. It is a quite a hit for all the sports which have been excluded. Especially table tennis where we have won gold medals,” Sharath told PTI.

Sharath’s compatriot G Sathiyan added, “It is disappointing…to see a mainstream sport like table tennis get excluded is surprising. Huge loss for the Indian table tennis fraternity. Hope something can be done. It is a shocker for all of us,” Sathiyan said.

One of India’s top squash players, Dipika Pallikal, voiced her disappointment when contacted for a response.

“Whenever it seems like we are moving a few steps forward for the sport, we are suddenly pulled back two steps. Huge loss for the Commonwealth countries that our sport isn’t included.

“I think squash really deserves to be part of all the multi-sport events and it’s definitely a huge loss that our sport cannot be showcased at the CWG,” she said.

India sent a contingent of 210 athletes to the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, competing across 16 sports and securing a total of 61 medals. Notably, 30 of those medals came from disciplines that will not be featured in the 2026 Glasgow Games.

FIH, Hockey India disappointed

The exclusion of hockey from the event roster was met with disappointment from both the sport’s international governing body, the International Hockey Federation (FIH), and Hockey India.

“Most of the medal winning sports for India have been dropped. The IOA should take up the matter. On our part, we have put our grievances to FIH and they are taking up the matter with CGF,” Hockey India secretary general Bhola Nath Singh told PTI.

The International Hockey Federation also released a statement, expressing its dissatisfaction with the decision.

“… Whilst we’ve taken note that the new concept for 2026 has been downsized, with a core offering of only 10 sports, we’re all the more disappointed by the CGF’s decision…our sport has been played at every Commonwealth Games since 1998, something we are very proud of,” the FIH said in the statement.

Likewise, Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Sanjay Singh too did not hide his displeasure and said the decision was taken despite their “best efforts” to convince the organisers to keep the sport.

“It is naturally very disappointing. India has always been a very strong wrestling nation at the CWG. It’s definitely going to hurt the wrestling community in India. We tried our best to convince CGF to keep the sport on the roster.

“But if you see, Scotland does not have strong wrestlers, so they must have looked at their own medal prospects which usually the host nations do,” said Sanjay Singh.

Badminton, another sport in which India generally does well at the Games, has also been dropped, and those governing the sport in the country described the pruning of disciplines as a “huge setback” for the country.

“It’s shocking and a huge setback for Indian sports, with nearly 40 medals at risk from the dropped events. This isn’t just a loss for sports and sportspersons; it feels like a conspiracy to side-line India’s rising sporting potential in the region,” said Badminton Association of India’s general secretary Sanjay Mishra.

Kalikesh Singh Deo, president of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), revealed that they even offered to host the shooting events for the 2026 Games in India. Despite this, shooting, like archery, was also excluded from the Birmingham Games.

“This will be a very different Commonwealth Games with many popular Olympic sports not included in what will be a watered down version of the Games.

“We can only wish those who will participate all the best. The Govt of India, Ministry of Sports and IOA did everything possible to include sports which India are traditionally strong in,” Kalikesh said.

“NRAI offered to host the shooting part of the games in India subject to relevant approvals. In the end we should rally around and appreciate Scotland’s effort in hosting the Games,” he added.

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