KARACHI: The hopes for Pakistan to win medals in the 2026 Commonwealth Games dampened as some of the key sports played in the country have been excluded from participation in the major tournament.
Wrestling, hockey, shooting, cricket, and several other games have been scrapped from the sports event following an announcement made by Glasgow, the host city for the games.
The development has, therefore, reduced Pakistan’s chances of clinching medals significantly.
Other sports facing cut include badminton, table tennis, squash, rugby sevens, beach volleyball and mountain biking.
Wrestling has been one of Pakistan’s most successful sports at the commonwealth games, contributing 46 medals, including 21 golds. The exclusion of wrestling will have a major impact, as it has been a consistent source of top podium finishes for the country.
Hockey, another sport with a rich history in Pakistan, has also been excluded. Pakistan’s hockey team previously won multiple medals at the commonwealth games, and its removal further narrows the country’s opportunities to earn medals.
Cricket, which was featured in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, will also be absent. Given Pakistan’s strong cricket team, this omission further weakens its medal chances.
Shooting, a sport in which Pakistan has won three commonwealth games medals (one silver and two bronze), has also been dropped from the 2026 program. This removes yet another potential avenue for Pakistan to add to its medal tally.
In total, Pakistan has claimed 27 gold, 27 silver, and 28 bronze medals across all Commonwealth Games appearances. The absence of wrestling, hockey, cricket, and shooting will likely make it harder for Pakistan to build on this success in 2026.
The sports featured in the 2026 Games include athletics and para athletics, swimming and para swimming, artistic gymnastics, track cycling and para track cycling, netball, weightlifting and para powerlifting, boxing, judo, bowls and para bowls, along with 3×3 basketball and 3×3 wheelchair basketball, which leaves Pakistan’s realistic hopes depending mainly on two sports – athletics (if Arshad Nadeem participates) and weightlifting.
