Wrestling, cricket and hockey among sports rejected by 2026 Commonwealth Games
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Indian contingency prepping up for an arduous journey in the 2026 Commonwealth Games! However, the shock value comes into play as major sports like wrestling, badminton, hockey and cricket along with shooting will not be part of this schedule nor would it see action in table tennis and squash. The drastic change will be in place for Glasgow, Scotland — from March 17-29, 2026 – and already has set social media ablaze.
This is a big surprise for India. The 2026 games that no longer include traditional events where India has excelled, such as wrestling, badminton hockey and cricket. Not even table tennis, triathlon or squash. The announcement on Tuesday of 10 sports being cut was a first pass at reducing the size and financial burden heaped onto Games' budgets. A decision has proved a bit surprising from Indian cricket fans, for as to how India is gonna far about this kind of format.
A Slimmed-Down Sports Lineup
The event, which will take place July 23-Aug. 2, is an international sports festival featuring athletes from the many British Commonwealth nations and dependencies. After a dozen years away, host Scotland has trimmed back on the size of its show.
Official sports include: Athletics and Para Athletics, Swimming and Para Swimming, Artistic Gymnastics, Track Cycling and Para Track Cycling; Netball (for females only), Weightlifting/Para Powerlifting; Boxing/Judo/Bowls/Para Bowls along with FIBA 3×3 Basketball/FIWBI 3×3 Wheelchair basketball
The event will take place at four venues; Scotstoun Stadium, Tollcross International Swimming Centre, Emirates Arena (Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome) and the Scottish Event Campus (SEC). The athletes will be housed in Hotels around, which means a completely different kind of Commonwealth Games at Delhi.
India’s Challenge
For India, it is a massive setback in terms of their medal prospects. India were a powerhouse in most of the disciplines that are part of the now-dropped Commonwealth Games. Shooting is something that was removed from the table when it came to Birmingham four years ago. Things do get tougher with WL, TT and other sports gone.
With 61 medals including a whopping 22 Gold, India's perfomance was simply outstanding at the Commonwealth Games in the year of its own hosting-2022! Most of these had been won in sports like wrestling (12 medals), weightlifting (10) athletics and boxing (8 each) table tennis. With events such as skateboarding, sport climbing and breakdancing on likely to feature in 2026 eliminated from the roster earlier this year Indian sportspersons will now need a fresh orientation towards other spots.
With Glasgow just months away, the countdown is on to meet those targets — and commentators are wasting no time arguing about what it will take. Can India perform like before? The have will be or is this revised line-up just going to whisk Indian athletes away? Soon enough we will if that is the case, March 2026 should be a show down like no other.