CHENNAI: With two of its most successful disciplines — shooting (sport was not there in 2022 as well) and wrestling — not part of the 2026 edition, replicating the Birmingham show looked difficult for India as the truncated Commonwealth Games began in Glasgow on July 23. Ten days later, the country's athletes surpassed all expectations as India retained the fourth-place finish on the medal tally.
Given the way they performed in Scotland, India can eye to match their best show, second-place finish at the 2010 Delhi Games, or even go one better when they host the quadrennial multi-sport event in Ahmedabad in 2030.
Since their debut at the CWG back in 1934, India have featured in all but four editions (1930, 1950, 1962 and 1986). Across all the Games before the latest one, shooting and wrestling contributed the most to India's medal tally with the first discipline delivering 135 medals including 63 gold while the latter one producing 115 medals including 49 gold. Weightlifting is third on the list.
Besides, there are sports like badminton and table tennis, which have been major contributors but were missing. It didn't matter in Glasgow as the country's boxers came up with their best-ever show winning 10 medals including seven gold and judokas creating history clinching two gold, a silver and a bronze. Track and field athletes couldn't finish on top of the podium but Tejsawin Shankar became the first Indian to medal (bronze) in decathlon while Gulveer Singh bagged first-ever long distance medals (silver in 10,000m and bronze in 5,000m) at this quadrennial event.
"It was a very good achievement. The judokas have performed really well and created history," Mukesh Kumar, interim president of the Judo Federation of India, told this daily. Kumar looked optimistic for a better show in the next edition as it is going to be hosted by the country. "Now that the next CWG is in India, we will start preparing for it from now. We will meet and submit our proposal for the next CWG. Next one will definitely be better," he said.
One athlete, who has been a regular on the podium since 2014 is ace weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, and she deservingly completed a hat-trick of gold in Glasgow becoming the first woman lifter to do so. Mirabai's gold, however, was the lone in the discipline but head coach Vijay Sharma held the performance good after his wards finished their campaign with eight medals. "In a few weight categories, we lost the gold by barest of the margins but eight out of 11 finishing on the podium is a good sign. The campaign was as per our expectations and we are happy with the show," Sharma said.
Women power
Eight of India's 13 gold have been won by the women athletes. Be it Mirabai or para-athlete Sharmila Dhankar or judoka Asmita Dey or boxer Sakshi Chaudhary, all of them produced a remarkable show to highlight the big transformation in Indian sport.
"Seeing India's women win eight of our 13 gold medals fills me with immense pride," PT Usha, Indian Olympic Association president and a pioneer herself, said in a press statement. "These achievements are the result of years of dedication by the athletes, their families, coaches and support teams. Every medal tells the story of perseverance and sacrifice. More importantly, these champions are inspiring countless young girls across India to believe that they too can wear the India jersey and succeed on the world stage. That is the true spirit of Nari Shakti."
Return of Wrestling, shooting
As India is set to host the next edition, sports like wrestling and shooting are expected to be back when Ahmedabad welcomes athletes from across the globe. The return of these disciplines will only see a rise in India's medal tally. "Wrestlers won 12 medals including six gold in the last edition. Usually, the Games have men's freestyle and women wrestling but as we are hosting the event in 2030, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) is trying to include Greco-Roman as well. The federation has already spoken to the United World Wrestling and the organising committee. 18 weight categories — six in each style — will definitely give more medals to the country," said WFI president Sanjay Kumar Singh.
With Glasgow handing over the baton and CWG flag to India at the Closing Ceremony, Indian athletes have four years to get themselves ready and come up with their best-ever show in the event. Over to Amdavad.