Glasgow 2026: Is the clock ticking away on the Commonwealth Games?

The biggest talking point in Indian sporting circles since last evening is the decision of Commonwealth Games hosts Glasgow to drop as many as nine disciplines for the 2026 edition – for it will deal a major bodyblow to their medal prospects. The bigger picture, of course, is that the clock is now ticking for the multi-discipline Games limited to member nations of the erstwhile British commonwealth.

The festering questions that beg to be asked at this point is: with such dearth of takers, will the centenary edition of the Games in 2030 see the last of the event or such a scaled down version will become the norm rather than an exception? Let’s remember that it’s the host nation’s call to decide on the number of disciplines and Glasgow, who agreed to step in at the eleventh hour to salvage the Games as Victoria in Australia pulled out due to financial reasons, cannot be faulted for deciding on a scaled down event.

The Scottish city, which had already hosted the event in 2014, is now looking to improvise on how they can work around the existing infrastructure – with most events focused on four venues and also managing the athletes’ stay in hotels as there is no time nor wherewithal to construct a new Games Village.

A full scale Games, going by the 2022 edition in Birmingham, had cost 778 million pounds – which was reported to be within the budget with the British government covering 75% of the cost (594 million) and the Birmingham City Council footing the remaining 25% (184 million).

 British media claims that the last edition made financial sense as it contributed 1.2 million pounds to the UK economy, with the half of that in the West Midlands. The numbers may suggest that the Games can still be a viable option but take it beyond the UK, but take it outside their shores and it becomes a challenging option to position it vis-à-vis the Asian Games or Summer Olympics. The new world order does not possibly care anymore that the 2026 edition will be the first one under the reign of Prince Charles.

The name of Hamilton in Canada is being touted as 2030 hosts, but the future really looks bleak after it. As the Who’s Who of Indian sport are crying foul at the dropping of their respective disciplines – celebrated badminton coach Vimal Kumar has gone a step further.  

‘’There is no need for Commonwealth Games. In my opinion, they should do away with it. It is pathetic, I am really disappointed. CWG is losing it’s charm and relevance. I strongly feel we shouldn’t send out a team for CWG. It’s not required,’’ the mentor of the likes of Saina Nehwal and Lakshya Sen said.    

Well, it’s not India’s obligation alone to decide on the fate of the Commonwealth Games Federation. Not many are aware that the Pan American Games, deemed as the third largest multi-discipline event after Olympics and Asian Games, has still managed to survive with it’s next edition due in 2027.       

The question that begs to be asked from an Indian sports fans’ point of view is: how much importance should then the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) add to the CWG in future?  It’s most unfortunate that 30 of India’s 61 medals in Birmingham will not be there at stake in Glasgow: badminton (6), cricket (1), squash (2), hockey (2), table tennis (7) and wrestling (12).

However, most of India’s medalwinners in these events will have a chance to battle for medals at a bigger platform with the Asian Games scheduled the same year in Aichi-Nagoya in Japan.  

While the CWG has historically brought India a sizeable collection of medals, they are not often an index of real sporting progress vis-à-vis the Asian Games. For example, the wrestlers may have brought 12 medals last time but it’s a low priority sport there with the competition levels nothing to write home about. Someone like Sharath Kamal, the table tennis veteran, may have won 13 medals in CWG and has won two in a more competitive arena of the Asiad.    

Under the circumstances, it may be a good idea for India to be selective in picking their squads and try to send development squads in certain disciplines to the CWG – shunning the temptation of the low hanging fruits (read: medals). It makes more sense of test the mettle in events like track & field or weightlifting, where the standard of competition is higher on this platform.    

The call is India’s about how they want to use the Games till it lasts. As for the future of the Games, it’s anybody’s guess...