From fifth to ninth before surging ahead and finishing second, Gulveer Singh crossed the finish line half a second behind the Australian winner, Ky Robinson. This was on the night of 28th July, 2026, at the 10,000 metres Commonwealth Games in Glasgow’s Scotstoun Stadium. Four days later, in the same stadium, Singh ran the 500 metres race, repeating the same format. Eighth at the start, fifth with two laps remaining and finishing third. He became the first Indian track and field athlete to win two individual medals at a single edition ofthe Commonwealth Games.
However, while Gulveer Singh’s podiums are stellar and novel, India’s overall performance at the Games was not a headliner. India finished fourth with 39 medals, 13 gold, 17 silver and 9 bronze; the smallest medal count since Manchester 2022, where India won 61. A major factor for this drop, however, lies in the structure of the two games themselves. Nine sports that featured in 2022 were dropped from the 2026 programme (wrestling, badminton, table tennis, squash, hockey, cricket, rugby sevens, beach volleyball, triathlon). From a field of 19 sports, the 2026 programme was reduced to ten when the venue relocated from Victoria, Australia, to Glasgow. In Birmingham, those nine sports alone accounted for 25 of India’s 61 medals: 12 in wrestling, 5 in table tennis, and 6 in badminton. One of India’s most prolific sports at the Commonwealth Games, Shooting, has not featured since 2018. Therefore, the difference between India’s overall performance at the two Games is not so much a consequence of performance as of amendments to the structure of the Games themselves due to relocation.
India’s performance in the ten sports shared by both editions of the Games has been inspiring. Boxing alone accorded ten medals, seven of them gold, which set a record of the most won by any nation in the sport at a single edition of the Games. Asmita Dey became India’s first-ever champion in Judo, followed by Harsh Singh. Mirabai Chanu won her third gold in the Women’s 48 kg Weightlifting competition, her third gold following Gold Coast (2018) and Birmingham (2022). She is also the second Indian to win three consecutive Commonwealth gold medals in weightlifting. India’s para campaign returned with its highest win in the Games with seven medals, equalling India’s combined para wins from the previous editions of the Commonwealth Games. Devendra Jhajaria, president of the Paralympic Committee of India, called it “a storm of medals”. Sharmila Dhankar won gold in women’s Shot Put F57, also called the season-best throw.
India also won its first-ever medal in the Commonwealth Games’s decathlon when Tejaswin Shankar won a bronze in the event. Shankar’s is one of the most appropriate illustrations of the loss and disappointment that inadvertently accompany victory and accomplishments. While his bronze gave India its first podium in the decathlon, Shankar had to withdraw from the high jump after a flare-up of chronic patellar tendinitis. In 2022, he won the bronze in the high jump in Birmingham. With the decathlon bronze, Shankar became the first Indian track and field athlete to win medals in two different individual events in the Commonwealth Games’ history. It must be noted, however, that this Tejaswin Shankar’s double victory differs from Gulveer Singh, who won two medals in two different individual events in the same edition of the game.
In Judo and decathlon, India won its first podiums; para-athletics ended a 2-decade drought. With the fall of some of India’s historically strong disciplines from the Commonwealth Games programme, the remaining ten sports have been subjected to the concentrated attention of sports enthusiasts. Now, with Indian athletes securing podiums in disciplines like Judo and Decathlon, India has an opportunity of building its legacy as it did with its traditional stronghold disciplines such as wrestling and weightlifting.
India is also set to be spotlighted as the host country of the Commonwealth Games 2030 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Jasmine Lamboria, who won the Women’s 57 kg Weightlifting final,l carried India’s tricolour flag on the closing night of the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Speculations abound that India will restore the cut disciplines where India has gained historic podiums (wrestling, badminton, table tennis, shooting, hockey). The return of these disciplines into the 2030 programme coulsee d India could sit at well over 39 points. While this would be a leap from026 Games’ outcome, it would not be a fair comparison owing to the structural difference between the two editions.
Glasgow’s medals histructural; India’s performance in disciplines which a fuller programme would have crowded out of media attention. A true ascent on the Games’ tally would require first-timers and record setters such as Games’ win, Dey and Dhankar to return to the podium alongside our athletes in disciplines in which India has enjoyed a traditional stronghold. The upcoming Commonwealth Games edition, therefore, presents India in a unique position, bringing the responsibility of the host country as well as an opportunity to raise its athletic bar.
References:
- Commonwealth Games 2026, Glasgow – India
- The Economic Times – The stairs to the podium: India’s sporting rise under PM Modi
- Hindustan Times
- Olympics.com – Commonwealth Games 2026: Tejaswin Shankar wins India’s first-ever medal in decathlon
- The Bridge – India finish fourth at Commonwealth Games 2026 after historic boxing campaign
- Commonwealth Sport