India will travel to Glasgow, Scotland, with a 126-strong contingent to take part in the 19th Commonwealth Games as the 2026 edition gets underway on July 23.
This edition will see a truncated list of events after the host city unveiled a pruned roster of 11 disciplines to keep the event budget-friendly.
But before the focus shifts to the upcoming iteration, here’s a look at some of the top moments for the Indian contingent from the 2022 edition held in Birmingham.
For a good week, the discipline of lawn bowls had caught the imagination of India, for the country clinched its maiden medal in the sport at the CWG in this edition.
India's Lovely Choubey, Pinki, Nayanmoni Saikia and Rupa Rani Tirkey celebrate after winning the lawn bowls women's fours final against South Africa. | Photo Credit: PTI
The first, a gold no less, came when the Indian women’s fours team beat South Africa in the final. The triumphant quartet comprised Rupa Rani Tirkey, Lovely Choubey, Pinki and Nayanmoni Saikia.
Then a few days later, the men’s fours team got India its second bowls medal, a silver, after it lost to Northern Ireland in the summit clash. The Indian team consisted of Sunil Bahadur, Navneet Singh, Chandan Kumar Singh and Dinesh Kumar.
For 20 years, only Kenyans ruled the men’s 3000m steeplechase podium. India’s Avinash Sable came and bucked the trend.
Avinash Mukund Sable competes in the 3000m Steeplechase final. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
He clocked 8:11.20 to clinch silver and become the first non-Kenyan athlete to step onto the podium after six editions.
Sable’s timing was his then Personal Best and a National Record, the ninth time he had re-written the mark.
Indian table tennis’ evergreen man, Achanta Sharath Kamal, continued to defy all odds at the age of 40 in Birmingham.
In the previous edition, he bagged the most gold medals (three) ending with an overall haul of four medals. Sharath took the top prize in men’s singles and mixed doubles (with Sreeja Akula) and was part of the triumphant men’s team. He also clinched silver in the men’s doubles alongside G. Sathiyan.
Sharath Kamal poses with his table tennis men’s singles gold medal. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Birmingham ended up being the Tamil Nadu paddler’s final bow at the Games as he stopped his CWG medal count at 13, the third-most decorated Indian athlete after shooters Jaspal Rana (15) and Samaresh Jung (14).
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Just 14, Delhi’s Anahat Singh was the youngest member of the Indian team at the 2022 edition.
Anahat Singh en route to beating Jada Ross of Saint Vincent in the Round of 64. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
The squash player announced herself at the international level by dispatching Jada Ross from St Vincent and the Grenadines 11-5, 11-2, 11-0 in the women’s singles Round of 64 match.
She might have exited in the next round after losing 7-11, 7-11, 11-4, 6-11 to then World No. 19 Emily Whitlock of Wales, but winning that one game offered a view into the future and the promising player Anahat would become.
Kerala’s Eldhose Paul broke fresh ground last edition as he became the first-ever Indian to strike gold in the triple jump. Closely following him was Statemate Abdulla Aboobacker, who won silver.
Gold medal winner Eldhose Paul, left, of India and compatriot and silver medallist Abdulla Aboobacker celebrate after the men’s triple jump final. | Photo Credit: AP
Eldhose’s best jump of 17.03m was enough to get him the first prize, and it was also the first time he’d crossed the 17m mark.
Meanwhile, Aboobacker’s best was at 17.02m, but he would later say, “I would have happily shared the gold if we had both registered 17.03m. No questions asked about that.”
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Published on Jul 21, 2026