New Delhi, Oct 22
Badminton Association of India (BAI) secretary Sanjay Mishra has expressed his disappointment to major sports being excluded from the 2026 Commonwealth Games and said that it feels like a "conspiracy to sideline India's rising sporting potential".
The 23rd edition of the CWG is set to be held in Glasgow from July 23 to August 2, 2026, will feature only 10 sports.
The Glasgow 2026 sports list is significantly leaner than Birmingham 2022 with the exclusions of hockey, cricket, badminton, wrestling, table tennis, squash. Shooting, which was also dropped from the Birmingham 2022 CWG programme, is still out.
"It's shocking and a huge setback for Indian sports, with nearly 40 medals at risk from the dropped events. This isn't just a loss for sports and sportspersons; it feels like a conspiracy to sideline India's rising sporting potential in the region," BAI secretary said in a statement.
In badminton, India have won an impressive 31 medals, including 10 gold, eight silver, and 13 bronze. Notably, India were to enter the 2026 edition as defending champions in men's and women's singles, as well as men's doubles.
"The Badminton Association of India stands firmly in protest and will be reaching out to all relevant authorities at the Commonwealth and BWF, as well as the highest levels of government in the country, to advocate for the future of Indian sports," he added.
The omission of the major sports is a major blow to India's medal hopes in 2026. Shooting and wrestling have been the biggest medal sports for India at the Commonwealth Games since their inception.
Field hockey's exclusion also means the sport will be missing from the quadrennial event for the first time since the sport made its debut in the CWG back in 1998.
India won 61 medals, including 22 gold. Wrestling (12), weightlifting (10), athletics (8), boxing, and table tennis (7 each) contributed the most to the overall tally.