122 athletes from India came to the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and 38 (Gulveer Singh won two medals) of them returned with medals, with the nation finishing fourth in the overall medal tally.
While it might seem a downgrade from the 61 medals won in the 2022 edition in Birmingham, India sent 210 athletes then - a hit rate of 29%, while Glasgow saw 31% of India's contingent come back with medals.
While it's unfair to reduce sporting performance to mere numbers and grades, here's how ESPN rated the performance of India's contingent.
3x3 BASKETBALL | ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS | ATHLETICS | PARA ATHLETICS | BOWLS | BOXING | JUDO | PARA POWERLIFTING | SWIMMING | PARA SWIMMING | TRACK CYCLING | PARA TRACK CYCLING | WEIGHTLIFTING
3x3 BASKETBALL
Grade: B-
Medals: 0
The four-member strong women's wheelchair basketball team achieved history the moment they set foot in Glasgow, as the first Indian para-sports team to qualify for the Commonwealth Games.
They finished bottom of their group that included Scotland, Wales and Nigeria, with a point difference of -33, but given their inexperience, it was an expected result. A 6-7 loss to Nigeria would sting, especially with the prospect of a historic first win.
TL;DR: Performed to low expectations
ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS
Grade: C
Medals: 0
Of the eight gymnasts India sent, only a couple performed in a final - Tapan Mohanty and Protistha Samanta. Pranati Nayak reportedly competed despite carrying an injury, which raises questions about the wisdom of the team selection.
The scores were also well below what the gymnasts had managed in other competitions at the Asian level and domestically. India's last CWG medal in gymnastics came in 2014, and it seems the wait will continue until 2030.
TL;DR: Performed below expectations
ATHLETICS
Grade: B+
Medals: 10
India sent 37 athletes to Birmingham in 2022, and eight (1 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze) returned with medals. In 2026, the athletics contingent was 32-strong but returned with 10 medals (5 silver, 5 bronze).
While Neeraj Chopra would naturally be disappointed with losing out on gold, that he was joined on the podium by debutant Yash Vir Singh spoke volumes about the javelin throwers he has inspired. Tejaswin Shankar also created history with a first-ever CWG medal for India in decathlon, despite carrying an injury. Gulveer Singh won an incredible silver and bronze medal as a distance runner, but he was the only track medallist as India's much-hyped sprinting and relay contingent missed out.
TL;DR: Just about met expectations
Also Read: The Neeraj Chopra effect: He's on the podium, with Pathirage and Yash Vir in South Asian sweep
History in the rain: Gulveer runs into Indian athletics' Hall of Fame with incredible CWG silver
Seema Kaliramna uses PhD research to win Commonwealth Games bronze
PARA ATHLETICS
Grade: A
Medals: 6
Six medals from just the eleven para-athletes India sent speaks volumes, and they were arguably one of India's best-performing contingents. Those six medals came from three events, with India earning three double podiums, two of which were a 1-2 finish.
Plenty can be said about the quality of the opposition in the CWG field, but India's para-athletes defeated almost all that came before them. There were inspiring performances from the likes of Dilip Gavit and Soman Rana, but none more so than Sharmila Dhankar, a survivor of domestic abuse, who took gold in the women's shot put F57 event.
TL;DR: Exceeded somewhat high expectations
BOWLS
Grade: C+
Medals: 0
After the high of 2022, when India's women's fours team won gold, and the men's fours team won silver, it was a crash down to earth as India's six-member strong bowls contingent came back empty handed.
Look closer though, and you can see how narrowly India missed out by. The women's pairs duo of Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh were one bowl away from knocking out eventual champions England, while the men's pair team also lost out on tiebreaks to England. Given how the CWG is their only time in the spotlight, this performance in Glasgow will sting.
TL;DR: Underperformed high expectations
BOXING
Grade: A-
Medals: 10
Many will point to the lack of competitiveness in the CWG field, but India's boxers could only beat what was in front of them. Ten boxers returned with medals (7 gold, three silver) from the fourteen that the BFI had sent. It's a success rate of 71% up from 58% in the 2022 CWG.
Jaismine Lamboria underlined her status as world champion with a gold medal, while Sakshi Chaudhary had already defeated two world champions back home before setting foot in Glasgow, so nothing was going to stop her from winning gold. Preeti Pawar, Ankush, Sachin Siwach, Arundhati Choudhary and Priya Ghanghas enhanced their reputations with gold medals, but the likes of Lovlina Borgohain, Jadumani Singh and Narender Berwal may be slightly disappointed with silver.
TL;DR: Only slightly exceeded high expectations
Also Read: Sakshi Chaudhary won gold in Glasgow, but forged it beating world champions back home
JUDO
Grade: B
Medals: 4
Given that this was the first time India's Judo contingent came back with gold medals from the CWG, one would expect a higher grade. However, two of their initial 14-member squad were barred for doping (Arun Kumar, Tulika Maan) - and that loses them some points.
One cannot fault the inspiring stories of the contingent that did perform, including India's first-ever gold medal-winning judoka at the Games, Asmita Dey. Harsh Singh added another gold minutes later, while Yamini Mourya (silver) and Unnati Sharma (bronze) added to India's tally.
With most of the squad ranked in the 50s and 100s globally, the relatively uncompetitive CWG Judo field is their only shot at a medal, and some of them played it to perfection.
TL;DR: Exceeded expectations, but doping is an asterisk
Also Read: Asmita Dey, Harsh Singh win historic judo golds for India
PARA POWERLIFTING
Grade: C
Medals: 1
India's powerlifting contingent came in with high expectations - they had medalled at the Asian and even performed well at the World level going into the CWG. However, many of them lifted below their personal bests, and the result was that Jhandu Kumar was the sole powerlifter who came back with a medal from the seven-member strong squad.
TL;DR: Underperformed expectations
Also Read: A lift to break free - Jhandu Kumar rises out of shadows, poverty to win Commonwealth bronze
SWIMMING
Grade: C
Medals: 0
No one expected much from India's swimmers, given the presence of Australia in the pools of Glasgow. Yet, almost all of them performed well below their best timings, perhaps a result of being stuck in the widest lanes of the pools - a situation they are not used to domestically.
TL;DR: Performed below low expectations
PARA SWIMMING
Grade: C
Medals: 0
See above.
May even lose a point because the full squad was not sent due to an administrative error.
TL;DR: Performed below low expectations
TRACK CYCLING
Grade: C
Medals: 0
It's become a familiar refrain - India's track cycling stars, namely Ronaldo Singh Laitonjam and David Beckham Elkatohchoongo, generate headlines at every event due to their names, not their performances.
One can give them a bye due to their federation's ineptitude and the lack of facilities, but the cyclists failed to better any of their personal bests in Glasgow, often finishing near the bottom of the standings.
TL;DR: Performed below low expectations
PARA TRACK CYCLING
Grade: B
Medals: 0
16-year-old Lisha Das received little to no help from the federations responsible for her, who instead made it worse - with tons of red tape leaving her without a female chaperone and performing without her aerodynamic suit.
The crowd in Glasgow loved cheering her on as the youngest competitor at the Games, and that was the lone positive for the teenager.
TL;DR: No expectations. That she even made it to the track given the obstacles before her was a victory.
Also Read: No chaperone, no aero suit: The bureaucratic hurdles facing 16yo Lisha Das at CWG
WEIGHTLIFTING
Grade: C+
Medals: 8
Ten of India's 15 weightlifters (66%) won medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Only three of them returned to Glasgow. Therein lies the problem with India's weightlifting success - many of these are tainted by the shadow of doping. It was so bad, that India were punished - reducing their squad from 16 slots to 11.
Mirabai Chanu won gold, of course, and there were some standout performances with Rishikanta Singh, Ajaya Babu and Lovepreet Singh setting Games Records in the snatch, while Gyaneshwari Yadav set a new national record as all these lifters won silver. However, whether these talents who won eight medals (1 gold, 6 silver, 1 bronze) will be fostered or lost to the ineptitude of the system will only be known when Amdavad 2030 comes around.
TL;DR: Met expectations, but doping asterisk along with federation ineptitude.
3x3 BASKETBALL | ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS | ATHLETICS | PARA ATHLETICS | BOWLS | BOXING | JUDO | PARA POWERLIFTING | SWIMMING | PARA SWIMMING | TRACK CYCLING | PARA TRACK CYCLING | WEIGHTLIFTING
