The news of Hockey, Badminton, Squash, Cricket, Table Tennis, and Wrestling being removed from the lineup for the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games has caused a wave of disappointment among athletes, coaches, analysts, and fans on social media. But fear not, I believe that this unexpected change might secretly be a blessing in disguise for Indian sport. Let me explain why.
A major issue with Indian sports fraternity is the existence of an underdog mentality. This underdog mentality not only affects athletes but also analysts and fans. Sometime we exaggerate our achievements, making them seem more significant than they truly are. And the biggest example of it is the Commonwealth Games, where many events are less competitive. The analysts sitting on sports channels don’t acknowledge the difference in the level of competition and come up with exaggerated claims for everything.
There’s a presence of elite sporting nations Australia and England participating in the Commonwealth Games but what casual fans don’t realize is that these countries have their strengths in specific sports, such as swimming, cycling, athletics etc. However, they are not be renowned for disciplines like wrestling, weightlifting, or badminton. This difference in sporting strengths contributes to the varying levels of competition in the Commonwealth Games.
It can be argued that the Commonwealth Games has a negative impact on Indian sports, causing more harm than good. The number of medals won doesn’t accurately represent a country’s sporting prowess, nor does it have much significance.
A common question: Why does India well at CWG but fails at the Olympics?
The reason why India excels in the Commonwealth Games but doesn’t always translate that success to the Olympics is that the level of competition is different. At the Commonwealth Games, in certain events just being a decent athlete in a sport may be enough to earn a medal, including a gold. However, at the Olympics, the competition is significantly more intense as World’s elite participate. To win a medal at the Olympics, athletes need to be world-class or produce exceptional performances, which is not easily achievable. There are many factors that can contribute to this difference, including a lack of skills, talent, or sufficient training.
However, another reason for this difference in performance is that our athletes sometimes lack the drive and motivation to push themselves to their limits. After securing medals in events like Commonwealth Games, we have seen some athletes not putting in the necessary efforts to improve and excel. While some have disappeared from the scene as their objective to get cash prize and jobs.
Some readers might now point out that cash prizes and joba are awarded even for Asian Games but there are differences between Asian games and the Commonwealth Games. It’s worth noting that we are part of Asia, and all countries participate in their respective continental events. However, we are not a part of British Commonwealth now, so there is no obligation for us to participate in the Commonwealth Games.
Another important factor is that the level of competition in Asian events tends to be higher than in the Commonwealth Games. Among the several sports where we have the potential to win Olympic medals, apart from hockey and athletics (only in track events), Asian Games are way more competitive. Events such as badminton, table tennis, shooting, boxing, weightlifting and wrestling have very strong fields.
Our athletes have the opportunity to participate in diverse events like the Olympics, Asian Games, World Championships, and many more events, which offer greater competition than the Commonwealth Games. The Commonwealth Games are just a misuse of time and a source of artificial hype. State governments often waste resources by providing prize money, which should be instead allocated for world championship medalists instead.
This is great opportunity for us to withdraw from the event. Australia has failed to arrange the hosting, and then Scotland, a part of the UK, has took charge, to save Great Britain from embarrassment. And they have removed several sports citing stupid reasons like cost-cutting when in reality they are just not unable to provide the facilities required to conduct these sports. It is the perfect time to assert our stance and embarrass these Brits.