India eyes better Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad 2030 after Glasgow mixed results

PUNE: The Glasgow Commonwealth Games are over. The baton passes to India for the Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad, dubbed ‘Amdavad 2030’. With the event returning home after 20 years, India will be aiming not only to stage a better Games than Delhi 2010 but also to improve on its best-ever medal haul. At the 2010 Delhi Games, India won a record 101 medals to finish second in the overall standings. For Indian sport, Glasgow offered a mixed picture. The 39 medals collected this time were fewer than the 61 in Birmingham 2022, 66 in Gold Coast 2018 and 64 in Glasgow 2014. More importantly, those medals came from just six sports. By contrast, India’s medals had come from 17 sports in 2010, 11 in 2014, 15 in 2018 and 13 in 2022. The explanation lies partly in the programme itself. Glasgow did not include sports where India has traditionally been strong. India has won 135 medals in shooting between 1966 and 2018, excluding the 1970 Edinburgh edition. Wrestling has fetched India 114 medals across 18 editions since 1934. Yet Glasgow had no shooting, wrestling, hockey, badminton, archery or table tennis, which together had contributed 67 medals for India in Delhi 2010. As India prepares to host in 2030, the focus will be on retaining the positives from Glasgow while also bringing back its strongest disciplines.

Athletics leads the way

Athletics emerged as the biggest winner for India, with medals in the men’s 10,000m and 5,000m long jump, decathlon, high jump, triple jump and para-athletics adding up to 16 medals. What stood out most was the history made by Gulveer Singh, who won silver in the 10,000m and bronze in the 5,000m and Tejaswin Shankar, who claimed decathlon bronze. Yash Vir Singh also broke new ground by winning a javelin bronze in a field featuring Olympic and world champions, as well as world leaders and record holders. The para-athletes contributed three gold, two silver and one bronze, even as the 4x400m relay team had to settle for sixth place. “The performance was way better than expected. This has been a good result and it will only improve in the years to come. The result reflects the policies that the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has adopted in the past few years,” former World Championships bronze medallist and current AFI senior vice-president Anju Bobby George told TOI. “Now we plan the training programme according to individual athletes’ requirements rather than designing a blanket programme for everyone. Some athletes train in the USA, some in Europe, because that is what best suits their future. The results are definitely going to improve in 2030 and beyond, as we also plan to host the Olympics,” she added.

Boxers make a statement

Boxing also delivered strongly, with seven gold among the 13 medals won. While the level of competition at the Commonwealth Games is not as demanding as at the Asian Games or Olympics, the performances will still provide a valuable confidence boost. “It is not as if these were the only medals our boxers have won so far. We had world champions, an Olympic medallist and Asian Games and Asian Championships winners at the Glasgow CWG. The field may not have been as strong as the Asiad, but it was not weak either.

Judokas earn their place in the spotlight

With two historic gold and three medals overall, Indian judokas Asmita Dey, Harsh Singh and Yamini Mourya also deserve special mention. A sport that has often struggled for attention in the past appears to be finding its footing. If judo can continue on this trajectory, the possibilities are immense. With 15 medal events at the Olympics and proper investment and a cleaner administrative setup, India has genuine medal potential at the world level too.