India exceeded expectations at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games by securing fourth place overall with 39 medals, driven by stellar displays in boxing, athletics, judo, and weightlifting.
India finished fourth behind Australia, England, and Canada at the truncated Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, delivering a strong performance that exceeded pre-tournament expectations. Despite a drop in total hardware from 61 to 39 medals—comprising 13 gold, 17 silver, and nine bronze—the contingent easily surpassed the anticipated mark of around 30 medals.
A major surge came on the penultimate day from the boxing squad, which captured seven gold and three silver medals. Five women—Sakshi Chaudhary, Preeti Pawar, Jaismine Lamboria, Priya Ghanghas, and Arundhati Choudhary—along with men's boxers Sachin Siwach and Ankush Panghal, spearheaded India's best-ever showing of 10 boxing medals, three more than in the previous edition.
In athletics and para-athletics, India collected 16 medals. Athletes secured 10 medals in world-class fields, up from eight at Birmingham 2022. Neeraj Chopra recovered from injury to win silver in the javelin throw, sharing twin-medal success with Yashvir Singh. Gulveer Singh became the first Indian to medal in both the 5000m and 10000m, while Tejaswin Shankar claimed the country's first decathlon medal. Long jumper Murali Sreeshankar secured his second consecutive silver, Sarvesh Kushare took high jump silver, and triple jumpers Praveen Chithravel and Selva Prabhu earned twin podium finishes. Para-athletes Dilip Gavit, Soman Rana, and Sharmila Dhankar also made notable contributions.
India also made history in judo, where Asmita Dey and Harsh Singh won the country's first-ever gold medals in the sport. In weightlifting, Mirabai Chanu delivered on expectations by clinching her third consecutive gold medal, leading Indian lifters to an eight-medal total.
The strong showing in Glasgow provides positive momentum ahead of the upcoming Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games next month, as well as for Ahmedabad's preparations to host a expanded Games in 2030 and India's long-term goal of hosting the 2036 Olympics.
Reporting sourced from The Hindu Sport. Photo courtesy The Hindu Sport.