PM Modi also shared a short video of his interaction with the athletes on Instagram, calling the meeting a special occasion. Disclaimer: We do not own any of the content, ideas, images, or text presented here. All rights belong to their respective owners. For more information and to view the original source, please visit the following link: Source link
Mumbai: Even in a Commonwealth Games (CWG) of strapped sports and shoestring budgets, Glasgow 2026 featured the largest swimming programme of any edition. Truncated or full-fledged, the pool still rewards a huge chunk of medals at the CWG (of toppers Australia’s 171 medals and 70 gold, swimmers contributed 76 and 37). File image of national swimmer Srihari Nataraj who clocked 25.29 in the semi-final of 50m backstroke at the Commonwealth Games. (HT Archive) The pool remains India’s major area for improvement for a bigger push in multi-sport events. The country’s able-bodied swimmers were by no means expected to challenge for medals at the Glasgow CWG. However, their below-par timings and performances compelled the national federation to look at “reinventing the training system” in the hope of Indian swimmers being more competitive when the country hosts the next CWG in four years. At the 2022 CWG, Indians qualified for the final from heats in four events, with Srihari Nataraj also breaking a national record apart from making two finals. There was no such individual brilliance in …
After setting a record to win the 100m gold medal on his Commonwealth Games debut in Glasgow, para athlete Dilip Gavit is aiming even higher, hoping to break world records in both the 100m and 400m events at the upcoming Para Asian Games in Japan. “I want to set world records in the 100m and 400m at the Asian Games. At the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, I won gold in the 400m. It was my first time competing in the 100m at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and I won the gold medal with a Games record,” said Gavit, who competes in the T47 category. “I want to run 10.28 seconds (close to India’s able-bodied national record). Earlier, I competed in able-bodied events. I won gold medals at the national level among able-bodied athletes and at the Khelo India Games. Back then, I mainly competed in the 400m,” he said. The T47 category is for athletes with upper limb impairments, including unilateral arm amputation or reduced function in one arm, which can affect balance, …
India’s two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra, on Wednesday, reflected on his tough road to the 2026 Commonwealth Games silver medal. “There are throws that travel far, and then there are moments that carry the weight of an entire journey,” he wrote in a social media post. “This one means so much more than the distance.” Chopra, who had bagged the men’s javelin throw gold medal on his Commonwealth Games debut back in 2018, had been struggling with injuries in recent past. It even ended his medal winning streak at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo last year. “The past 10 months has tested me in ways I never expected,” he said. “Recovering from multiple injuries, rebuilding my body, finding my rhythm again, and learning to be patient when all I wanted was to compete. He noted that he wasn’t even sure if he’ll compete in the 2026 season and still had to push through to give it a shot. “I was training every day without knowing if I will even have a season to …
New Delhi: Indian boxers capped their Glasgow Commonwealth Games campaign in style, winning seven gold and three silver medals on the penultimate day of competition. The gold rush sent India into top-five on the medals table, a no mean feat considering that most of country’s stronger sports — wrestling, shooting and badminton — were not in the scaled-down Games. India ended with 39 medals (13 gold, 17 silver, 9 bronze). India’s gold medal-winning women boxers pose at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games on Saturday. (PTI) With seven of the country’s 13 gold medals coming from the boxing ring, the magnitude of the haul can’t be stated enough. India’s gold count surpassed the previous best at CWG and went past England, who won six gold twice (London 1934, Gold Coast 2018), while Canada had matched that tally at Edinburgh 1986. While the overall tally in boxing rose only marginally, from nine medals in 2018 to 10 in 2026, the number of gold went from three to seven. Celebrate we must, but sweeping success like this runs the …
The cameras moved on, the emotions of the medal ceremony had already settled. Mirabai Chanu’s fourth Commonwealth Games medal confidently hung around her neck. Back home it was past midnight and her family was fast asleep by the time all the formalities wrapped up. Mirabai then had a peaceful moment with her long-time coach Vijay Kumar, who has shared every emotion of her journey. Together they revisited the struggles, the heartbreak of missing out on a medal in the Paris Olympics, the injury that kept her out of action and most importantly the efforts put which went in over the past four years to bring her back on the podium. The conversation was not about winning the gold but it was about everything that had gone into winning it. Back in India, Mirabai confidently wore the medal that represents years of resilience. “My family had slept by the time I got free. I sat down with (Vijay) Sir and spoke about all that we had faced in the last four years,” Mirabai told The Bridge …
Haryana’s Bhiwani boxing legacy shone once again on the global stage on Saturday as Preeti Pawar clinched the gold medal in the women’s 54kg event at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Moments later, fellow Bhiwani boxer Jasmine Lamboria added to India’s golden haul by winning the women’s 57kg title. Preeti Pawar clinched gold in the women’s 54kg event, while fellow Bhiwani boxer Jasmine Lamboria followed with the women’s 57kg title. (ANI) HT spoke to Somvir Singh, an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) with the Haryana Police and Pawar’s father, who said her victory is not just a victory for their family, but also a moment of pride for the entire nation. “She developed an interest in boxing when she was in Class 8. Since then, she has never looked back,” he told HT. “Her uncle, who is also her coach, trained and guided her throughout the journey. The family’s unwavering support also played a crucial role in helping her reach this stage. She has worked incredibly hard for this achievement, and I believe this is only …
India’s MC Mary Kom has inspired generations of homegrown boxers, but the six-time world champion’s influence has travelled well beyond the country’s borders, reaching Pakistan’s first female Commonwealth Games medallist, Fatima Zahra. It was after watching the film based on Mary Kom’s life, which starred Priyanka Chopra, that a 10-year-old Fatima decided to become a boxer. Pakistant’s first female boxer to win a CWG medal used to train while watching Priyanka Chopra’s Mary Kom biopic. How Priyanka Chopra’s Mary Kom inspired Fatima This week, the 22-year-old signed off with a historic bronze medal in the women’s 60kg event at the Glasgow Games. This is the first medal in boxing at the Commonwealth Games by a Pakistani woman. Growing up in Sargodha in Pakistan’s Punjab province, Fatima had few female boxing role models to look up to in her own country. She instead found one across the border in Mary Kom. “I am inspired by India’s Mary Kom,” Fatima told PTI after securing her bronze medal. For Fatima, it was not just Mary Kom’s achievements but …
There was only one person Asmita Dey wanted to call after the biggest victory of her life. But seven months ago, that possibility was taken away forever. On Friday, the 23-year-old scripted history by becoming the first Indian judoka to win a Commonwealth Games gold medal, defeating Canada’s Heidi Quach in the women’s 48kg final after a gripping golden score contest. As the celebrations unfolded around her, Dey’s thoughts drifted to her father, a bicycle mechanic from a small village in Tripura, who had spent years keeping his daughter’s impossible dream alive. “When my father passed away, I thought everything had finished because he was the one who supported me,” Asmita said, pausing repeatedly to compose herself after the bout. The gold medal hanging around her neck was the one he never got to see. A dream bigger than the village Asmita comes from Belonia, a small town in Tripura where sporting dreams rarely stretch to the Commonwealth Games podium. Her father earned around Rs 300 a day repairing bicycles. The family lived in a …
India scripted history in the men’s javelin throw at the 2026 Commonwealth Games on Friday as Neeraj Chopra and Yashvir Singh clinched silver and bronze respectively, securing the country’s first-ever double podium in the event. Neeraj, returning to the Commonwealth Games after missing the 2022 edition, produced a best effort of 85.83m to finish second behind Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage, who struck gold with 89.75m. While Neeraj’s medal was expected, it was Yashvir Singh who stole the limelight. The 24-year-old unleashed a stunning 85.41m throw with his sixth and final attempt to leap into the bronze medal position, crossing the coveted 85m mark for the first time in his career. The throw was a new personal best and earned him his maiden international medal. The double podium marked a landmark moment for Indian athletics. It was the first time India had won two medals in the men’s javelin throw at a Commonwealth Games. Yashvir also became only the third Indian man to win a Commonwealth Games medal in the men’s javelin throw, joining Kashinath Naik, …
