Capturing will return to the Commonwealth Video games roster within the 2026 version in Victoria, Australia, whereas wrestling has been dropped in a bitter-sweet flip of occasions for India.
The Commonwealth Video games Federation (CGF) and the Commonwealth Video games Australia on Wednesday unveiled the total sport programme for the Victoria 2026 CWG, that includes 20 sports activities and 26 disciplines, together with 9 absolutely built-in para sports activities.
The return of capturing, which was controversially dropped from the Birmingham CWG earlier this 12 months, is a welcome growth for India.
Capturing has been India’s strongest sport within the Commonwealth Video games with 135 medals (63 gold, 44 silver and 28 bronze) until now. Wrestling is in third spot with 114 (49 gold, 39 silver and 26 bronze) medals.
Within the 2018 Gold Coast version, Indian shooters gained 16 medals — 25 per cent of the nation’s whole medals of 66 — with 7 gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze.
The addition of para-shooting within the 2026 Video games may also add to India’s medal tally.
However the absence of wrestling which yielded probably the most variety of medals — 12 (6 gold, 1 silver, 5 bronze) on the Birmingham Video games is an enormous loss. The game has been dropped after that includes in 4 successive Video games since 2010.
Archery, however, has featured solely twice within the CWG — in 1982 and 2010 — and India stands second within the all-time medal tally for the game.
The dropping of wrestling is, nevertheless, not on sudden traces. Wrestling isn’t a sport that may be very standard in Australia and the host nation often picks sports activities the place house athletes are anticipated to do properly.
Capturing is a well-liked sport in Australia which completed second behind India within the 2018 CWG with 9 medals (3 gold, 5 silver, 1 bronze) from the game.
Nonetheless, the 2026 version is not going to have full bore capturing occasions and will probably be competed in pistol, rifle and shotgun disciplines. This growth will, nevertheless, don’t have any influence on the medal prospects of the Indian shooters as they don’t seem to be historically robust at full bore occasions.
“The capturing programme will embrace air pistol, air rifle, capturing para sport and shotgun entice. Nonetheless, full bore aren’t included,” in accordance with an Australian capturing official.
“It’s higher for capturing to be on the programme in a lowered means than in no way.”
The capturing programme within the 2018 Gold Coast CWG had disciplines on full bore, pistol, rifle and shotgun.
In April, the Indian Olympic Affiliation (IOA) had written to the CGF to incorporate capturing, wrestling and archery within the 2026 CWG, describing their dropping from the preliminary record of sports activities as “surprising”.
Golf, 3×3 Basketball, 3×3 Wheelchair Basketball, Coastal Rowing, Capturing, Capturing Para Sport, BMX Racing, Mountain Bike Cross Nation, Monitor Biking and Para Biking Monitor have been added to roster, whereas Coastal Rowing, Golf, and BMX will make a Commonwealth Video games debut.
“Victoria 2026 can be proposing so as to add in Para disciplines in Golf, Coastal Rowing and the Highway Race and can work with the Commonwealth Video games Federation and related worldwide sporting federations to find out if that is potential,” a CGF media launch learn.
It’s estimated the Video games will contribute greater than USD 3 billion to Victoria’s economic system, creating greater than 600 fulltime equal jobs earlier than the Video games, 3,900 jobs through the Video games and an additional 3,000 jobs past the Closing Ceremony.
CGF President Louise Martin mentioned, “The Video games are set to be aggressive and action-packed, that includes an intensive, absolutely built-in Para Sport Program, the debuts of Coastal Rowing, Golf and BMX, the return of Capturing and the scintillating 3×3 Basketball.
“The Programme is rooted within the CGF’s 2026-30 Strategic Roadmap, which gives hosts with larger flexibility to suggest new sports activities, particularly ones with particular native relevance that can improve cultural showcasing and enhance neighborhood engagement.”
The 2026 CWG will probably be staged from March 17-29 within the Australian state of Victoria throughout a number of cities and regional hubs together with Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and Gippsland. The Opening Ceremony will happen on the iconic Melbourne Cricket Floor.