India came in fourth place with 39 medals: 13 gold, 17 silver, and 9 bronze in the just-concluded Commonwealth Games. Their numbers this year were quite smaller than the previous records, and this is because the games were held in Glasgow and they were smaller.
Glasgow 2026 programme listed 10 out of the 19 sports held in Birmingham four years ago. It removed 9 sports from the events, which include wrestling, badminton, table tennis, beach volleyball, cricket, rugby sevens, triathlon and hockey (Yahoo Sports, 2026), which accounted for India’s 61 medals in 2022.
India first played at the Commonwealth Games in 1934, winning 15 medals that year (Olympics 2026b). In 2010, when they hosted in New Delhi, they won 101 medals, finishing second, and the 2022 games placed them in fourth place, with 61 medals. This was because their greatest strengths were in the above-mentioned sports.
Why then did Glasgow decide to run only 10 sports, when Birmingham ran 19?
The Commonwealth Games were held in Glasgow, Scotland, from July 23rd to August 2nd, 2026, and it hosted 74 nations, 3000 athletes playing in 10 sports, at four different venues. It would be the first game to be held after the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of King Charles III as the Head of the Commonwealth, and the first edition since Donald Rukare became president of Commonwealth Sport.
The games have been in motion since August 1930, when the first event was held in Hamilton, Canada, and take place every four years. It didn't hold in 1942 and 1946 due to the ongoing World War II, but afterwards, the games have gone on for a period of 96 years.
The Games were initially set to be held in Victoria, Australia, but the high cost of planning and hosting the Games made them back out three years ago (BBC Newsround, 2024). The baton fell onto Glasgow, which stepped in to help, making it a second-time host since 2014. Its programme list also included six para-sports.
The Games have since been tossed around from one country to another; In 2022, Durban in South Africa was to be the first African host, but due to the financial costs it dropped out, and Birmingham had to fill in (ESPN Africa, 2024). The same occurred this year, giving Glasgow less time and money to plan with. The Australian government had noted that they would not be using public funds for the event, but rather relied
on the £100 million from the Commonwealth Games Federation and a multi-million-pound package from Commonwealth Games Australia (ESPN Africa, 2024). There were also some issues with limited venues for the various sports, since there was no time to build new ones or hire buildings, as the country was given six years to plan. Glasgow had to reuse the same venues from 2014.
This was the cause of India’s winning streak, but it didn't stop them from bringing the medals home. From the para-sports competitions, India took home 7 medals. This would be the first time the country was going home with medals in that category in 20 years since it was incorporated.
In other categories, India succeeded in taking home 10 medals in boxing, 7 of which were gold. In others, she marked her name as the first in different categories, including track, where Gulveer Singh won two individual medals, making him the first Indian to do so at the Games; decathlon, where Tejaswin Shankar became the first Indian to ever come first; and javelin, where Neeraj Chopra, although missing in 2022 due to an injury, won a silver medal.
India might not have participated in the sports where she shone best, but she came home with medals that held much history for years to come. Since she was not able to compete in some sports this year, the next competition is in 2030, when the Games will mark their 100th year and open room for bigger home games where India would compete and win back the medals from Glasgow.
References:
- Business Standard. (2026, August 3). Commonwealth Games 2026 closes with Glasgow passing baton to Ahmedabad.
https://www.business-standard.com - ESPN Africa. (2024, October). Commonwealth Games 2026: Glasgow agrees deal to host event.
https://africa.espn.com - Glasgow 2026. (n.d.). About us.
https://www.glasgow2026.com - Olympics. (2026a, August). Commonwealth Games 2026: India medals tally and winners list – full table. https://www.olympics.com
- Olympics. (2026b, August). India at Commonwealth Games: How they have fared.
https://www.olympics.com - Outlook India. (2026, August 3). Is Glasgow 2026 India's best Commonwealth Games finish? Check the final medal tally and rankings.
https://www.outlookindia.com - Yahoo Sports. (2026, July). Which sports were cut from Commonwealth Games 2026?
https://sports.yahoo.com. . .