Only 10 sports will be included in the 2026 Commonwealth Games, and less than 19 sports will be offered in the just-concluded 2022 Birmingham Games. The excluded games from the list include hockey, cricket, wrestling, and shooting, which are games in which India has performed exceptionally well in the past. Due to be held from the 23rd of July to the 2nd of August, this edition would see the return of Glasgow for the last time, having hosted in 2014. Another questionable decision is to remove such disciplines as table tennis and squash to minimize the expenses and the number of facilities needed for the event – four. This change means the Glasgow games will host nine fewer events than the 2022 Birmingham games.
The reduction in the number of sports that could be competed in could have a major knock effect on the number of medals that India might be likely to win given the fact that many of the country’s best outings have come in the excluded forms of sporting disciplines. The importance of hockey towards the growth of sports across this nation is well understood since their loss may well deal Indian medals a great setback. They were initially planned to be hosted in Victoria, Australia, but Australian officials in the state decided to pull out of hosting the games because the costs were rising and Glasgow took their place.
In a statement, the Commonwealth Games Federation outlined the sports that will be included: athletics and para-athletics (track and field), swimming and para-swimming, artistic gymnastics, track cycling and para track cycling, netball, weightlifting and para powerlifting, boxing, judo, bowls and para bowls, 3×3 basketball and 3×3 w wheelchair basketball.
Events will be held at four venues: Scotstoun Stadium, Tollcross International Swimming Centre, the Emirates Arena that hosts the Velodrome named after Chris Hoy, and the Scottish Event Campus (SEC). All the accommodations for athletes and the support staff will be provided in the hotels in the proximity, making all the participants comfortable.
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