Commonwealth Games 2026: Cricket, Hockey, And Other Key Sports Omitted, Posing Medal Challenges For India

Commonwealth Games 2026: India’s hopes for a strong medal haul at the 2026 Commonwealth Games have been significantly impacted by the exclusion of key sports such as hockey, badminton, wrestling, cricket, and shooting from the event. Glasgow, the host city, recently unveiled a revised list of 10 disciplines, aiming to cut costs and keep the event more budget-friendly. This reshuffle leaves out many of the sports in which India traditionally excels.

Additionally, table tennis, squash, and triathlon have been excluded as well, with the entire event being streamlined across just four venues. Compared to the 2022 edition in Birmingham, the number of events will also decrease by nine.

The Commonwealth Games will return to Glasgow from July 23 to August 2, marking its return to the Scottish city after 12 years. The sports program will include Athletics and Para Athletics (Track & Field), Swimming and Para Swimming, Artistic Gymnastics, Track Cycling and Para Track Cycling, Netball, Weightlifting and Para Powerlifting, Boxing, Judo, Bowls and Para Bowls, as well as 3x3 Basketball and 3x3 Wheelchair Basketball, according to the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).

The Games will take place across four venues: Scotstoun Stadium, Tollcross International Swimming Centre, Emirates Arena (which houses the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome), and the Scottish Event Campus (SEC). Athletes and support staff will be accommodated in nearby hotels.

India’s medal prospects have taken a hit with this reduced roster, as many of the country's past successes have come from the omitted sports. Shooting, in particular, was anticipated to remain absent following its omission from the 2022 Birmingham Games, primarily due to logistical challenges.

The CGF emphasized that "Glasgow 2026 will feature a 10-sport programme concentrated across four venues within an eight-mile corridor," effectively ruling out shooting due to the Barry Buddon Centre in Dundee being over 100km away from Glasgow. Archery, which last appeared in the 2010 Delhi Games, has also been left out of the program.

Major venues like Glasgow Green and the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, which hosted hockey and wrestling during the 2014 Commonwealth Games, have been excluded this time. The Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, which hosted badminton previously, will now only be used for cycling events in the upcoming edition.

Hockey’s exclusion from the Games could be partly due to scheduling conflicts, as the Hockey World Cup is set to take place from August 15 to 30, 2026, in Belgium and the Netherlands. Originally, Australia’s state of Victoria was supposed to host the Games, but they withdrew due to escalating costs, paving the way for Scotland to take over.

India has seen tremendous success in several of the sports left out of the 2026 Games. The men’s and women’s hockey teams have earned multiple medals, including a historic gold for the women in 2002. Badminton has yielded 31 medals for India, including 10 golds, while shooting has been a dominant sport with 135 medals (63 golds). Wrestling, another sport left out, has delivered 114 medals, including 49 golds, for India at past Commonwealth Games.

With many of these sports excluded, India’s medal prospects in Glasgow have been severely hampered. The absence of these key disciplines raises questions about the country's potential medal tally in the upcoming Commonwealth Games.