‘People Make Glasgow’ is the Scottish city’s official tourism slogan. For India, though, it may well be athletics, boxing and weightlifting that will make the country stand tall at the truncated 2026 Commonwealth Games, to be held in the host city from July 23 to August 2 across four venues.
Unlike athletics, which arrives with a glittering cast of Paris Olympic medallists and 2025 World Championship winners, boxing and weightlifting may not boast the same galaxy of global superstars. But that could work in India’s favour. With several genuine medal contenders of its own and a formidable Commonwealth pedigree, India has a golden opportunity to make every punch and every lift count.
India has traditionally been one of the strongest boxing nations at the Commonwealth Games, with the sport evolving into one of the country’s most dependable medal factories.
At the 2014 Glasgow Games, Indian boxers returned with five medals. The high point came at Gold Coast 2018, where India claimed nine medals, including three gold.
At Birmingham 2022, the boxing team once again delivered a rich haul of seven medals. A similar return of around six to eight medals will be the expectation in Glasgow.
But the road to the podium will be anything but straightforward.
In women’s boxing, India will encounter several quality opponents, including England’s Chantelle Reid and Australian challengers Emma-Sue Greentree and Lekeisha Pergoliti, among others. These are fighters capable of turning a bout on its head and will test India’s medal ambitions.
The men’s field may not feature as many household names, but it will be packed with dangerous and hungry contenders. England’s Paddy Hewitt (70kg) and Northern Ireland’s Jude Gallagher, the 2022 Commonwealth Games champion, will compete in the 60kg category. There are also several promising boxers from Canada, Australia and New Zealand with the skills and temperament to spring surprises when it matters most.
Weightlifting, too, promises an intense battle.
The 2025 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships, which served as a direct qualification pathway for Glasgow 2026, brought several future contenders into focus. Malaysia’s Muhammad Aznil Bidin (65kg), Canada’s Braydon Kennedy (88kg), Malaysia’s Mohamad Nor-Azmi Ghazali (94kg), reigning champion Chris Murray (England, 81kg), and Fiji’s Taniela Rainibogi (110kg) are among the lifters who could stand between India and the medals.
Firm favourite: Mirabai Chanu is in excellent form and will be aiming to complete a historic hat-trick of CWG gold medals and a fourth overall. | Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI
The women’s competition, in particular, will feature some of the biggest names in Commonwealth weightlifting. Canada’s Maude Charron, an Olympic champion in Tokyo and a two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist (2018 and 2022), will be the star attraction in the 63kg category.
Australia’s Eileen Cikamatana, the defending Commonwealth champion in the 86kg division, remains a formidable rival. England’s Emily Campbell, the Birmingham 2022 champion and an Olympic medallist at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, will be aiming to defend her super-heavyweight crown (+87kg).
India, however, will not arrive as a mere challenger. It will field some of the biggest names in Commonwealth sport.
Leading the charge will be Lovlina Borgohain in women’s boxing (75kg) and two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Mirabai Chanu in weightlifting (48kg).
Lovlina, the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth champion in the 70kg category and Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist, combines physical strength, reach and experience acquired on the biggest stages.
However, she will need to rediscover her best form after a fluctuating period since her Olympic breakthrough. Australia’s Emma-Sue Greentree is expected to be among her principal rivals.
In women’s featherweight boxing (57kg), reigning world champion Jaismine Lamboria will carry India’s biggest hopes for gold. The 24-year-old from Bhiwani has reinvented herself since dropping from 60kg to 57kg in 2024, gaining speed, sharper movement, and greater control and effectiveness.
She will be eager to improve on the bronze medal she won in Birmingham.
Tall, quick and technically gifted, Jaismine uses her reach intelligently, controls distance with an effective jab and has developed into a boxer capable of both outscoring opponents from range and stepping up the pressure when required.
She is among India’s most exciting prospects to watch in Glasgow.
Sachin Siwach is another emerging star from the famed Bhiwani boxing belt.
Seasoned warrior: Lovlina Borgohain, the Birmingham 2022 champion in the 70kg category and Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist, combines physical strength, reach and experience | Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR
After making his mark at the youth level with medals at the World Youth Championships and Commonwealth Youth Games, Sachin announced his arrival on the senior stage by winning gold in the men’s 60kg category at the 2025 World Boxing Cup Finals.
His victory over Paris Olympic silver medallist Munarbek Seitbek Uulu of Kyrgyzstan in the final, achieved through a commanding 5-0 unanimous decision, demonstrated that he possesses the speed, composure and technical quality to compete with the world’s elite.
In Glasgow, Sachin could face stiff competition from England’s William Hewitt and Canada’s Keoma-Ali Al-Ahmadieh, both of whom have impressed on the World Boxing circuit and are among the leading contenders in the men’s 60kg category.
In weightlifting, all eyes will once again be on Mirabai. The Indian superstar is in excellent form and will be aiming to complete a historic hat-trick of Commonwealth Games gold medals and a fourth overall.
But India’s excellence extends well beyond one champion.
Bindyarani Devi (58kg), Nirupama Devi Seram (63kg) and Gyaneshwari Yadav (53kg) represent the next generation of Indian lifters eager to climb the podium and challenge for gold.
For India, boxing and weightlifting have repeatedly delivered when medals were needed most. Glasgow presents another opportunity for the two disciplines to power the country’s medal charge, which might well shape its overall campaign.
At the 2022 Birmingham Games, in addition to the Indian boxers’ medal haul, the weightlifters bagged 10. Anything significantly less this time will be a disappointment.
In other able-bodied sports such as judo, artistic gymnastics, lawn bowls, swimming and track cycling, India’s medal prospects appear considerably slimmer.
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Published on Jul 21, 2026