Sports
Is it time for India to look beyond the Commonwealth Games?
Mumbai: There was significant frustration within the Indian sporting community over the shortened version of the 2026 Commonwealth Games (CWG). Of the nine sports dropped for Glasgow to allow for a more budget-friendly event, India had medaled in six wrestling , table tennis, badminton, hockey, squash and cricket from the 61-medal show in Birmingham in 2022.
But as the dust settles on the raw responses and the reality that a CWG Lite is the way forward becomes increasingly clear to a sports enthusiast. If an event struggles with relevance anyway, there's a bigger question worth thinking about. Could India completely look beyond the CWG, especially as the country is stripped of the quantity of sports and quality of competition it has to offer?
I think now is the time to think beyond the CWG. In several sports, India has crossed the CWG threshold, where the level of competition has deteriorated over the years, said Viren Rasquinha, former India hockey captain and CEO of Olympic Gold Quest. We need to aim higher and focus on tournaments that will give us more clarity about where we really stand in terms of the Olympic Games.
There are a number of factors that underscore this point. Firstly, India bagged 27 medals in four of the six sports that were part of the 2024 Paris Games at the CWG in Birmingham. In Paris there were two. In these sports, and even in some of the sports still on the Glasgow programme, such as weightlifting and boxing, the proving ground at Commonwealth level is hardly as tough as it is at Asian or global level. This obviously does not apply to all sports. For example, athletics, hockey and squash have tougher competition at CWG compared to the Asian Games.
Secondly, in most of these sports, there are plenty of Indians competing and making their presence felt in tournaments that offer world-class competition: the World Championships, World Cups, Asian Championships, Asian Games. In most sports, the number of global tournaments has increased significantly throughout the year and so has the Indian touch.
In the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and perhaps even 1990s, many of these CWG countries needed this competition (CWG). But as far as India is concerned, that is not relevant now, said U Vimal Kumar, former badminton player and India coach. Every sport now has a vibrant track on the world stage, and that includes badminton. I would prefer India to concentrate more on other events now.
Just because TT isn't part of the CWG doesn't make the game die. Many new tournaments have been added, said table tennis Olympian Kamlesh Mehta, secretary general of the Table Tennis Federation of India, terming the CWG's decision to scrap the TT as lacking sporting sentiment.
We now have the WTT (World Table Tennis) tour and within it several key events that are just as important, if not more so, for a player, especially in terms of rankings.
Where the CWG gap could be felt is for aspiring athletes who could potentially use the Games as a launching pad for loftier goals (think shooter Manu Bhaker or rower Manika Batra at the 2018 CWG). And undoubtedly in the monetary rewards and recognition for athletes and coaches that follow a CWG medal.
CWG was one of the launch pads; now they could look to other tournaments for that, Rasquinha said. I know that prize money and CWG medal rewards are a consideration. But from a larger Olympic perspective, there are many other important competitions that we would need to conquer if we are serious about reaching double figures at the Olympics.
Focus on Asian Games
Another positive about the shortened CWG is that the focus can be fully shifted to the Asian Games, the continental multi-sport event usually held in the same year as the CWG. In 2026, there will be just over a month's gap between the Glasgow CWG and the Nagoya Asian Games. In several sports, the Asian Games also function as an Olympic qualifying event.
We can focus and invest better in preparing for the Asian Games, Vimal Kumar said. Forget CWG.
The CWG sometimes gives you a false sense of security about where you really stand, Rasquinha said. So if India decided not to go for the CWG at all, I honestly wouldn't blink an eye.
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