Commonwealth Games Glasgow is the 23rd multi–sport international event that invites almost 3,000 athletes from 74 countries and territories worldwide. The event has been organising several tournaments for different sports, where athletes from various countries and territories have been participating for decades, with enthusiasm. This year, the event was successfully hosted in Glasgow, Scotland, from 23rd July, 2026 to 2nd August, 2026. But due to tight financial constraints, there were several structural changes while organising the event. As a result of the structural changes to the event in Glasgow, Scotland, many sports have been removed from the tournaments. Thus, in 2026, the Commonwealth tournament organised in Glasgow was based on only 10 different sports. Unlike 4 years ago, in 2022, when 19 different sports were scheduled in Birmingham under the Commonwealth tournaments. As many sports tournaments were removed this year, it had a severe impact on the overall performance of many countries, including India.
India’s Worst Tally Since 1998
The Commonwealth Games Glasgow event just ended a few days back on 2nd August, 2026. This year, India won a total of 39 medals, including 13 gold medals, 17 silvers and 9 bronze medals. After the overall score calculation, India was placed in the fourth position, just below Australia, England and Canada. While the hosting nation, Scotland and India both acquired a total of 39 medals, a silver was a tiebreaker between these two nations, causing India to exceed Scotland on the overall final medal board.
In 2026, despite the splendid performance given by India, even after certain restrictions and financial constraints, it fell below 50 medals for the first time and was considered the worst tally in the last 24 years since the tournament of Kuala Lumpur, 1998, when India acquired a total of 25 medals, including 7 gold medals, 10 silvers and 8 bronze medals.
The best performance by India according to the overall final medal board was in Manchester, 2002, when India made a 69-medal mark due to its stronghold sports such as shooting, badminton, wrestling, table tennis and field hockey. All five sports in which India performed exceedingly well were removed from the Commonwealth Games this year. In 2022, in Birmingham, India acquired 30 medals in these sports, including 13 gold medals out of a total of 61 medals.
Hence, judging India’s performance only based on the overall evaluation can be slightly misleading. Many factors altogether have contributed to such a low score for India this year in comparison to previous years. Some factors include several structural changes that were announced at the last minute, financial constraints, restrictions on the number of scheduled sports and various other restrictions. Despite having these restrictions and changes, India still managed to secure fourth position even without its stronghold sports. Thus, this year’s tournament was challenging for India, as it helped India get out of its comfort zone.
India’s Performance in Commonwealth Glasgow 2026
This year, despite being considered the worst tally since 1998, India still managed to obtain 3.90 medals per sport across 10 different featured sports. Thus, this year’s density rate is among the country’s best in the history of the Commonwealth tournament.
Regardless of the removal of India’s stronghold sports this year, there are several other sports disciplines such as boxing, judo, and Paralympics, where India’s performance was splendid.
Boxing alone won a total of 10 medals out of 39 medals, including 7 gold medals and 3 silvers, from a 14-boxer contingent. This was India’s best-ever performance in boxing, and its overall medal haul in the 2026 Commonwealth Games in boxing is considered the most dominant single-nation boxing campaign in the history of tournaments.
Along with boxing, India won its first-ever gold in judo by Asmita Dey (48 kg) in the women’s category. Thus, this year’s performance of India is considered its best performance in Judo till date.
Perhaps the most inspiring part of India's Glasgow campaign was the performance of its para-athletes. India won seven para-sport medals, three gold, two silver and two bronzes, its best-ever performance in para sports at the Commonwealth Games. Remarkably, this equalled India's combined para-sport medal tally from all previous Commonwealth Games.
In athletics and para-athletics, India won a total of 16 medals. Neeraj Chopra earned a silver in the javelin throw. The performances delivered by Gulveer Singh and Tejaswini Shankar were the defining moments for acquiring the overall score of India’s Glasgow campaign.
Gulveer Singh won two medals in a single campaign, one silver in 10,000 metres as well as a bronze in 5,000 metres. Thus, Gulveer Singh became India’s first-ever track athlete to win two medals at a single Commonwealth Games campaign. Whereas Tejaswani Shankar won a bronze medal in the men’s decathlon with 7,976 points. His achievement was historic, as he became the first Indian ever to win a Commonwealth Games medal in the decathlon.
Overall Significance of The Campaign
India's Glasgow campaign should therefore not be described simply as a decline from the 61 medals won in Birmingham. In Commonwealth Glasgow, India achieved several important milestones: a record boxing campaign, India's first decathlon medal, a historic double for Gulveer Singh, India's best-ever para performance and a record judo campaign.
The Games also provided valuable momentum for India's future sporting ambitions. The country is scheduled to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad, and the Glasgow closing ceremony marked the formal handover towards India's next hosting opportunity. Thus, Glasgow 2026 was not merely about the medal count; it also highlighted the emergence of new athletes, stronger performances in athletics and boxing, and India's expanding success in para sports.
References: