India sign off from CWG 2026 with 39 medals as boxers and para stars script a Games to remember

GLASGOW, Aug 2: India closed the curtain on the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with 39 medals -- 13 gold, 17 silver and nine bronze. It was short of the symbolic 50-medal mark the country had maintained at every Commonwealth Games since 2002, but this was never going to be a tournament judged purely by numbers.

With several medal-rich sports absent from the programme, owing to financial constraints in hosting the Games, whose rights were initially reserved by the state of Victoria in Australia before moving to Glasgow, expectations were naturally tempered. But the nation found new heroes, new disciplines and new reasons to celebrate.

The contingent may not have managed to add to their tally on the final day, but the campaign in the port city in Scotland ended on a memorable note, one headlined by a historic boxing sweep, an unprecedented para-sports performance and Indian judo's greatest-ever Commonwealth Games showing.

Weightlifting got the campaign underway for India, delivering eight medals — one gold, six silver and one bronze. Mirabai Chanu once again proved why she remains India's undisputed queen of weightlifting, as she scripted history with a third successive CWG gold.

Then came boxing. If the Gold Coast Games in 2018 had represented India's finest moment in the ring with seven medals, Glasgow completely rewrote the record books. Assured of 10 medals heading into the finals, the Indian contingent converted seven into gold and three into silver, producing the greatest boxing campaign by any nation in Commonwealth Games history. The women led the revolution, claiming five gold medals, while Sachin Siwach and Ankush Panghal completed the men's triumph.

It wasn't just India's best-ever boxing performance, it became the benchmark for every country in Commonwealth Games history.

Yet even boxing wasn't the only sport breaking barriers. Quietly flowing under the radar, India's para athletes scripted perhaps the most remarkable story of the Games. The 28-member contingent returned with seven medals, three gold, two silver and two bronze, matching India's combined para-sports medal tally from every previous Commonwealth Games edition, while comfortably surpassing it in quality. That tally included three double podium finishes in para athletics, where Sharmila, Dilip Mahadu Gavit and Soman Rana struck gold.

Judo, too, reached unprecedented heights. Harsh Singh and Asmita Dey became India's first-ever Commonwealth Games judo gold medallists, while Yamini Mourya added silver and Unnati Sharma clinched bronze, ensuring India's best-ever medal haul in judo.

Athletics contributed the remaining 10 medals to India's tally, five silver and five bronze, while producing several landmark achievements. Tejaswin Shankar scripted history by becoming the first Indian to win a Commonwealth Games decathlon medal, claiming bronze. Gulveer Singh, meanwhile, emerged as one of India's standout performers, becoming the first Indian athlete to win two athletics medals at a single Commonwealth Games with silver in the men's 10,000m and bronze in the 5,000m. Olympic hero Neeraj Chopra also returned to the Commonwealth Games podium, adding a silver in the men's javelin after winning gold at Gold Coast 2018 and missing Birmingham 2022 through injury.

India had three confirmed medal events on Day 11, with the hope that the three remaining judokas in the fray would extend the medal record. However, there was no further addition to India's tally.

Judoka Ishroop Narang kept hopes alive for a medal with an impressive repechage victory over Cameroon's Georgika Wesly Djengue Moune, but despite her valiant show in the bronze-medal bout in the women's -78kg, she went down to Canada's Coralie Godbout by yuko after golden score.

Earlier, Yash Ghangas and Avtar Singh exited in the round of 16.

Cycling, too, also wrapped up without adding to India's tally. Ronaldo Singh Laitonjam finished 20th in the men's 1000m time trial, while Harshveer Singh Sekhon and Dinesh Kumar bowed out in the heats of the men's 40km points race.

Gulveer First Indian To Win 2 Athletics Medals In Single CWG

GLASGOW, Aug 1: Gulveer Singh became the first Indian to win a 5000 metres medal at the Commonwealth Games with a bronze to complete a historic double in Glasgow on Saturday.

The reigning Asian champion, who won a silver in the 10,000 metres on July 28, finished third in the 5000m with a time of 13 minute 24.95 seconds on the concluding day of the athletics competition.

Mathew Kipchumba Kipsang of Kenya took the gold with a time of 13:23.61s, while Australia's Ky Robinson, who earlier won the gold in the 10,000m, clinched the silver, clocking 13:24.70s.

However, the 28-year-old Indian, who holds National records in both 5000m and 10,000m, ran much below his season best timing of 13:03.93s.

Saturday's time was also well outside his National record effort of 12:59.77s.

Gulveer, who also won a 10,000m bronze in the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, kept himself among the leading pack throughout the race before surging ahead in the final lap. He beat Kenya's Cornelius Kemboi for the bronze by a mere 0.04 seconds.

Kemboi is a sub-13 runner, having clocked 12:56.02s in June, but on Saturday, Gulveer beat him by a whisker.

Pathirage beats Chopra and Nadeem to win Commonwealth gold in javelin

GLASGOW, Aug 1: Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage made history with Sri Lanka’s first gold medal in athletics when he saw off a strong field to win the 2026 Commonwealth Games javelin final.

The 23-year-old faced the daunting prospect in Glasgow of battling the great Pakistan and India pairing of Arshad Nadeem and Neeraj Chopra, so long the top two in the discipline.

Nadeem, the defending champion who also won Olympic gold at Paris 2024, made a shock early exit after three throws on a blustery evening at Scotstoun Stadium.

The going wasn’t much easier for Pathirage, who only registered one legitimate throw in his first five efforts.

That, however, was enough to seal the gold with a throw of 89.75 metres.

Chopra put an injury-plagued year behind him to secure silver with a season best of 85.83, while his compatriot, Yash Vir Singh, threw a personal best of 85.41 to claim bronze.

Five of the finalists had thrown more than 90 metres in their career, including world champion Keshorn Walcott. The Trinidad and Tobago star struggled with his first five throws and only managed 82.55 metres with his last to place sixth.

Pathirage started off as a fast bowler in cricket, where he was clocked – as a teenager – at a speed of 134 kilometres per hour (83 miles per hour).

The record speed registered in cricket was 161.3km/h (100.2mph), bowled by Pakistan great Shoaib Akhtar, who held the nickname ‘The Rawalpindi Express’.

Sri Lankan cricket’s loss has clearly been the gain of the rest of the nation.