As spiralling costs of organising multi-sport events and the lack of appeal for a Games with a colonial hangover have forced Glasgow 2026 to be a much scaled-down affair, the immediate impact was felt by India – the most populous country in the Commonwealth Games family. It has consistently earned top-five finishes in the new millennium, including its best-ever showing of a second place, with 101 medals, when Delhi played host in 2010. As the organisers have decided to limit the Games to 10 integrated disciplines (including para-sports) to be held at four venues, Indians are disappointed to note that some of the country’s medal-producing disciplines — including wrestling, badminton, table tennis, hockey, squash and cricket — have been dropped. Even after excluding shooting, which contributed the most to India’s overall tally in the Games, the nation was fourth with 61 medals in Birmingham 2022, and 30 came from these six disciplines. India’s medal prospects in 2026 will be practically restricted to athletics and para-athletics, weightlifting and para-powerlifting, boxing, judo, bowls and para-bowls. Shooting and wrestling, which have featured in most of the editions barring a few, have not only enriched the Indian medal kitty but have also produced glorious moments for the Games.
Top medal-getting shooters Jaspal Rana (15), Samaresh Jung (14), and triple gold-winning wrestlers Sushil Kumar and Vinesh Phogat have etched their names among the all-time greats. Athletes such as Abhinav Bindra, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, and Yogeshwar Dutt have experienced Olympic fame after shining at the Commonwealth Games. The Indian women’s hockey team’s gold medal-winning moment in Manchester in 2002 and wrestler Geeta Phogat’s historic gold in Delhi in 2010 inspired blockbuster movies Chak De! India and Dangal, respectively. In table tennis, India has consistently been placed among the top countries, and many still remember Manika Batra’s superb showing of four medals in 2018. Hockey remains an all-time favourite for the Indians while the country’s silver medal in women’s cricket’s debut in Birmingham is still fresh in fans’ minds. Shuttlers Saina Nehwal and P.V. Sindhu and squash players Saurav Ghosal and Dipika Pallikal have ensured that their sports contributed medals regularly. While the organisers’ compulsion was understandable after Victoria’s pull-out last year, it would have been prudent to include a couple of disciplines with a significant global appeal as those could have ensured a better future for the Games, which began as the British Empire Games in 1930, and now is closer to the centenary mark. Sadly, the cost burden has impacted the staging of what appears to be a dying ‘spectacle’.
Published – October 25, 2024 12:10 am IST
