The 2026 edition of the Commonwealth Games will be missing several sports in which India has traditionally excelled, dealing a major blow to the country’s medal prospects. Nearly half of India’s 61-medal haul from Birmingham 2022 came in sports that will not feature at Glasgow 2026, including wrestling, badminton, hockey, table tennis and squash. Badminton, cricket, hockey, squash, table tennis, triathlon, wrestling, beach volleyball and rugby sevens are among the nine sports dropped from the Birmingham programme, although India did not compete in the latter two. Why were these sports dropped? The 2026 Commonwealth Games were initially awarded to the Australian state of Victoria. However, after projected costs escalated to AUD 6–7 billion, the state withdrew as host in 2023. Glasgow stepped in to preserve the Games by adopting a scaled-down model that uses existing venues and trims the programme to just 10 sports. The move reduced the budget to around £160 million, nearly 60 per cent lower than Birmingham 2022. Organisers believe this financially sustainable and cost-effective model creates a workable framework that could …