Why are only 10 sports being played at the Commonwealth Games 2026? Here's what it means for India's medal tally

Unlike the Commonwealth Games of 2022, which featured 19 sports, the imminent Glasgow Games will have only 10 disciplines. The decision has surprised sports enthusiasts all over the world, especially when renowned sports like hockey, shooting, wrestling, and Badminton, where India have excelled over the years, have been dropped.

Why are there only 10 sports?

The biggest reason is financial. The tournament was originally supposed to be hosted by the Australian state of Victoria, but it fell on Glasgow after it pulled out in 2023, after the estimated cost of staging the event ballooned to nearly AUD 7 billion, much higher than what was earlier projected.

As Glasgow stepped in to host the event on short notice, it did not get enough time to tick all the boxes, and the challenge of keeping costs under control persisted as well. To make the Games financially viable, organisers significantly reduced the size of the competition.

As a result, only 10 sports have been retained:

Why is this bad news for India?

The trimmed sports programme is likely to affect India's medal tally significantly. India have traditionally been among the strongest nations in sports such as wrestling, badminton, table tennis, hockey, shooting, and cricket. As all of these will not be a part of the games this time, India's medal count will be largely impacted and may even get halved.

Shooting (Did not feature in Birmingham 2022) has long been one of India's biggest medal-producing sports at the Commonwealth Games, while wrestling and badminton have also consistently delivered multiple podium finishes. Cricket, which returned to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022, has also been excluded.

With these sports missing, India will lose several realistic medal opportunities.

Where can India still win medals?

Despite the reduced number of sports, India are still expected to perform strongly in a few disciplines.

Weightlifting remains one of India's biggest strengths at the Commonwealth Games, while attention will be on boxing as well. Athletics is likely to contribute to the tally, especially when Neeraj Chopra is participating. Besides that, medal prospects could appear in judo and track cycling; still, the number of medals that India will win this time will be much lower than in previous editions.

How big could the impact be?

India finished fourth in the medal standings at the 2022 Commonwealth Games with 61 medals. The number was formed with 22 gold, 16 silver, and 23 bronze. As indicated, large chunk of those medals came from sports that will not feature in Glasgow, particularly wrestling (12), badminton (6), table tennis (7)and cricket (1). So, it can be said that 26 medals have already been cut down.

As a result, India's overall medal tally in 2026 is expected to decline unless athletes deliver exceptional performances in the limited number of sports that remain on the programme.