CWG 2026 hosts announce full list of disciplines, golf to make debut

GANDHINAGAR: Shooting has made a comeback to the Commonwealth Games, but wrestling has been dropped. Hosts Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games organisers announced the full programme on Wednesday.

Shooting was dropped from the programme by the 2022 hosts, Birmingham, and didn’t find a mention in the initial list released by the 2026 organisers in July this year, but made it to the full programme released by Victoria on Wednesday.

Unhappy at wrestling getting the axe, Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) assistant secretary, Vinod Tomar, called for a boycott of the Games.

“They have deliberately removed wrestling as India were doing well at the CWG. The hosts should keep Olympic sports in their programme, irrespective of their strengths and weaknesses. It isn’t just about India, even countries like Nigeria, which wins medals at the CWG, will be robbed of the opportunity. This way, you are killing the sport,” Tomar said.

“We will speak to the IOA and I feel we should boycott the Games,” he added. IOA secretary Rajeev Mehta said India will write to CGF and the hosts about wrestling’s exclusion. “We will write to them and raise our concern and ask them to include wrestling. It (wrestling) is an important sport for India and we will do our best to get it included,” Mehta told TOI.

Indian wrestlers had won 12 medals (6 gold, 1 silver, 5bronze) at the Birmingham CWG this year. Since 1966 to 2018, Australia has won 171 shooting medals at the Commonwealth Games (70 gold, 59 silver and 42 bronze), highest among the participating countries. India is second with 135 medals (63, 44, 28). On the other hand, wrestling, which made its CWG debut in 1930, has fetched only 53 medals to Australia (14, 22, 17), putting them in the fourth position in the all-time wrestling medals tally.

India has won 114 medals in wrestling at the CWG (49 gold, 39 silver and 26 bronze). It is natural that Australia dropped wrestling for sports that can get them more medals than wrestling.

“The Games are set to be competitive and action-packed, featuring an extensive, fully integrated Para Sport Program, the debuts of Coastal Rowing, Golf and BMX, the return of Shooting and the scintillating 3×3 Basketball. The Program is rooted in the CGF’s 2026-30 Strategic Roadmap, which provides hosts with greater flexibility to propose new sports, especially ones with specific local relevance that will enhance cultural showcasing an d increase community engagement,” Commonwealth Games Federation president Dame Louise Martin said in a statement.

The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) secretary general, Kanwar Sultan Singh said the federation is happy to see the sport back in the CWG fold.

“We welcome the decision and are glad that our shooters will once again get an opportunity to participate i n the CWG. Also, Australia being a shooting nation will make the Games even more competitive,” the NRAI secretary general said.