Commonwealth Games 2026: Who are India’s top medal contenders at Glasgow

Neeraj Chopra (Javelin)

The first name on the list when it comes to medals will surely be India’s javelin star Neeraj Chopra who had skipped the 2022 Games due to a groin injury he had sustained during the World Athletics Championships. Since then, Chopra has won the silver medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics In the same year, he also bagged silver in the Doha Diamond League as well as a gold in the 2024 Paavo Nurmi Games.

In May 2025, he breached the elusive 90m-mark when he threw a new personal best of 90.23 m at the Doha Diamond League. After that, Chopra finished eighth at the Tokyo World Championships which ended his streak of podium finishes. He was then out with an injury for 9 months and only returned to competition in the 2026 Doha Diamond League where he finished 4th. Chopra had said that his body was still not back to his best after that event in June. With tough competition from Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage, Grenada’s Anderson Peters, Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem and India’s own Rohit Yadav, Neerja will have to dig deep in order to win his second Commonwealth medal. But if anyone can do it, it’s him.

Mirabai Chanu (Weightlifting)

Mirabai will be looking for her second Commonwealth Games medal as well, having bagged a gold at the 2022 Birmingham Games. Chanu, who turns 32 on August 8, has been India’s leading weightlifter for close to a decade and has also won the silver medal in the women’s 49kg category at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Although she was unable to replicate that success at the 2024 Paris Olympics, she remains one of India’s strongest medal hopes in Glasgow. She is also a multiple medallist at the World Championships. Ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, she looks in great form, having lifted 89kg in the women’s 48kg category at the 2026 Weightlifting Nationals and equalling her personal best with a total lift of 205kg. Chanu created three national records in the 48kg category: 89kg in snatch, 116kg in clean and jerk, and 205kg overall. She matched her 49kg category best mark, which came at the 2021 Asian Championships.

Lovlina Borgohain (Boxing)

Boxer Lovlina claimed the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics before winning gold at the 2023 World Championships. She also secured a silver medal at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou and is expected to be among India’s leading medal contenders in Glasgow. However, her Paris campaign ended in disappointment after losing the quarterfinal bout to China’s Li Qian. However, since moving up to the 75kg weight class, Lovlina has seen a drop in performance barring her world championship title at home and Asian Games silver in 2023. However, Lovlina will be hoping to add the only major medal missing from her cabinet which is a CWG one as she gets set to compete in her Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Murali Sreeshankar (Long Jump)

27-year-old Sreeshankar will be looking for another podium finish after winning silver in the 2022 Birmingham Games with a 8.08m leap. Last month, at the 65th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championship, Sreeshankar won with 8.38m — the second-best jump of his career, behind only his national record of 8.41m.

Sreeshankar had suffered a career-threatening knee injury in 2024 that ruled him out of the Paris Olympics. “After the injury, I never thought I would jump this far. When I first broke my knee and had the MRI report in my hand, it looked over for me,” he said. The knee is still not fully right. “One knee is big and one is small. There are three anchor screws in my knee, so I need to ice it regularly and take a deep tissue massage. But I have got used to the new training regime now.” Now, he is one of India’s brightest prospects for a podium finish at CWG.