India is taking part in the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, which run from 23 July to 2 August 2026. This is India’s 19th time at the Games since it first took part in 1934. This is the 22nd edition of the Games overall, and it has returned to Glasgow, which last hosted the event in 2014. Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu and boxer Lovlina Borgohain carried the flag and the baton for India at the opening ceremony, a sign of how much India is counting on its weightlifters and boxers this time.

Britain’s King Charles formally opened the Games on July 23. Around 3,000 athletes representing 74 nations and territories are taking part across 10 sports. This year’s Games are smaller than past editions, since organisers cut several sports to save money. That has already changed what India can realistically hope to win.

How Big Is India’s Squad, and What Sports Are They Playing?

India has sent 122 athletes to compete for medals at these Games. They are competing in eight regular sports, athletics, artistic gymnastics, bowls, boxing, judo, swimming, track cycling and weightlifting, plus five para-sports: para athletics, para powerlifting, para swimming, para track cycling and 3×3 wheelchair basketball.

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The government had first approved a bigger group of 191 people for the trip, made up of 126 athletes and 51 officials. That number came down before the Games began. On 12 July 2026, para swimmer Tejas Nandakumar was not allowed to compete in the men’s 50 metre freestyle S7 event because his disability classification paperwork was outdated. After he and two other athletes were withdrawn, India’s team dropped to 122 athletes.

Before this year, India had already won 564 medals at the Commonwealth Games across 18 past appearances, making it the fourth most successful country in the history of the Games.

Doping Cases Cause Trouble Before the Games Even Start

India’s preparation was hit by several doping problems that changed who could actually compete. Weightlifter Dilbag Singh, who was meant to compete in the men’s 94kg category, was dropped from the team because India’s overall weightlifting quota was cut due to five doping violations found during the qualifying period.

Here is why that happened. Under the rules for weightlifting at these Games, a country loses one athlete slot for every doping violation committed by any of its weightlifters or their support staff between 1 June 2025 and 22 July 2026. Because India had five such violations in that window, its weightlifting quota was cut from 16 spots to 11. It’s worth being clear that Dilbag Singh himself never failed a doping test. Team officials said he was also recovering from a back injury and had missed training camp in Birmingham, so once the quota was cut, he was the one asked to leave.

The doping violations that caused the cut involved weightlifters Ajith Narayana (71kg), Vanshita Verma (86kg), N. Ajith, Sairaj Pardeshi (88kg), and Harcharan Singh (110kg), all of whom had already been removed from the squad after failing tests. Two judo players, Arun Kumar (men’s 73kg) and Tulika Maan (women’s +78kg), were also pulled out after failing dope tests. Arun Kumar, who is 21 and had won gold at the Taipei Asian Open in 2025, tested positive for a steroid in a test done outside competition, and the anti-doping agency suspended him right away. India’s judo team was set to fly to Glasgow on July 27, and judo events start on July 31.

Even with all these setbacks, India still sent 124 athletes to the Games in the end.

Mirabai Chanu Wins India’s First Gold Medal

The best news for India so far has come from weightlifting. Mirabai Chanu won her third Commonwealth Games gold medal in a row, dominating the women’s 48kg event and giving India its first gold of these Games. The 31-year-old lifted 85kg in the snatch and 105kg in the clean and jerk, both new Games records. She first won a medal in this very city, a silver back in 2014, before going on to win gold at the 2018 and 2022 Games.

In the clean and jerk, Chanu missed her first attempt at 82kg, then lifted it successfully on her second try. Her third attempt, 85kg, set the new Games record. She then went on to lift 105kg successfully, sealing the gold medal. After the win, she posted on X: “I am pleased with my performance and truly humbled to win my third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medal at Glasgow. This being my fourth CWG appearance makes this achievement even more special. I would like to thank everyone for your unwavering support. Jai Hind” (@mirabai_chanu, July 26, 2026).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated her on X, calling her an inspiration and praising how consistently she has performed across Commonwealth Games.

More Medals from Weightlifting and Para Powerlifting

Chanu’s gold came alongside other good results for India. On the same night, Rishikanta Singh and Raja Muthupandi both won silver medals, in the men’s 60kg and 65kg weightlifting categories. Rishikanta Singh’s silver also came with a new Games record in the snatch, showing India still has real strength in weightlifting.

India’s very first medal at these Games actually came earlier, from powerlifter Jhandu Kumar, who won bronze in the men’s heavyweight para powerlifting final with a score of 130.9 points and a best lift of 190kg. Nigeria’s Riluwan Idris won gold, and England’s Matthew Harding took silver.

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India also has a bronze coming in boxing. Lovlina Borgohain is already guaranteed a medal after getting a bye into the quarter-finals of the women’s 75kg event, since both semi-final losers in boxing receive bronze.

Full List of India’s Medal Winners So Far

In total, India has four confirmed medals so far, one gold, two silvers and one bronze, putting the country in eighth place in the overall medal table. More names are likely to be added to this list as boxing, athletics, swimming, gymnastics and other events are decided over the coming days.

Global Champions and Top Performers at Commonwealth Games 2026

Beyond India, several international stars have stood out in the early days of the Games. South Africa’s swimmer Chad le Clos made history on the very first night of competition, 24 July, by winning his 19th Commonwealth Games medal in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay, which made him the most decorated male athlete in the history of the Games. That result also moved him out of a tie for the record, leaving him just one medal behind Australia’s Emma McKeon, who holds the overall record across both men and women. McKeon herself became the most decorated athlete in Commonwealth Games history after winning eight medals at the 2022 Birmingham Games, taking her career total to 20.

Swimming has produced several other big performances. Australia’s men’s 4x100m freestyle relay team of Flynn Southam, Kai Taylor, Harrison Turner and Kyle Chalmers broke the Commonwealth Games record in their event, and swimmers Meg Harris and Shayna Jack also set a new Games record in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay after already winning the women’s event together. South Africa’s Pieter Coetze grabbed gold in the men’s 50m backstroke, breaking his own Games record from the semi-finals a night earlier and finishing just outside his national record. In the men’s 100m butterfly, Canada’s Josh Liendo won gold and set a new Commonwealth Games record in the process.

Athletics has also drawn some of the sport’s biggest names. The athletics events feature Olympic champions such as Jamaican sprinter Shericka Jackson, home favourite Josh Kerr, who recently set a world record pending official confirmation, and the two most recent Olympic javelin champions, India’s Neeraj Chopra and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem.

Which Countries Are Leading the Commonwealth Games 2026 Medal Table?

Australia has taken firm control of the medal table early on. By Sunday evening, Australia had won 14 gold medals and 32 medals in total. By July 26, that lead had grown further, with Australia topping the table with 33 medals overall. Much of Australia’s strength has come from the pool, where the team won six gold medals in swimming on the very first day alone and kept adding titles across swimming, gymnastics and para swimming through the weekend. Australia’s netball team also made a statement, beating England 66-48.

England sits in second place with 18 medals in total. By Sunday, England had four golds and 18 medals overall. Hosts Scotland are in third place with four gold medals, even though Scotland’s overall medal count is smaller than several other nations. Nigeria, Canada and South Africa remain strong contenders just behind the top three, and traditional sporting powers such as New Zealand, Wales and Malaysia are also expected to push up the table as more events are decided.

India sits in eighth place with four medals, while Pakistan is yet to win its first medal of the Games. In total, there are 645 medals up for grabs across the 11 days of competition, so the placings at the top and further down the table are both expected to shift a lot before the Games finish.

Neeraj Chopra’s Javelin Event Is India’s Biggest Athletics Hope

A lot of attention is also on the athletics track, where two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra is competing in the javelin throw. Chopra wants to win his second Commonwealth Games javelin gold, having already won in 2018. He missed the 2022 Birmingham Games because of an injury. He comes into these Games in excellent form, having recently thrown past 90 metres for the first time in his career.

Chopra himself said before the event that the javelin field in Glasgow would be very tough, since it includes many World, Olympic and Asian champions, meaning every single throw would matter. His main rivals include Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, the defending Olympic and Commonwealth champion who threw an Olympic record of 92.97m at Paris 2024, and Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage. Grenada’s two-time former world champion Anderson Peters and Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott, a former Olympic champion, are also in the field. India’s chief athletics coach, Radhakrishnan Nair, said Chopra had recovered fully from his injury and was in good shape for the competition.

Chopra is leading a 32-member Indian athletics team in Scotland, alongside other athletes hoping for medals, including Gurindervir Singh, Animesh Kujur, Murali Sreeshankar, Tajinderpal Singh Toor, Parul Chaudhary and Gulveer Singh.

What Comes Next for India at These Games

With the Games running until August 2, India’s toughest and busiest stretch is still ahead. More medal events in boxing, athletics, badminton and wrestling are coming up in the next few days, and judo events begin on July 31, despite the doping problems that hit that team before the Games. So far, three of India’s four medals have come from weightlifting, even with a smaller squad than planned. Results from athletics, boxing and swimming over the coming days will decide where India finally lands on the medal table before the Games close on August 2.

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