 "India had previously hosted the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010. Reuters")
After expressing its desire to host the Olympics in 2036, India says it is “interested” in conducting the Commonwealth Games for a second time in 2030, and bringing back the sports that have been axed from the 2026 edition in Glasgow , a source in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports said on Friday.
If India does succeed in its bid, it will join a handful of nations that have hosted the quadrennial multi-discipline sporting event every more than once.
“We are interested and a formal interaction has taken place with the Commonwealth Games Federation on this. We have also proposed that all the disciplines that have been removed from the 2026 CWG be held in India,” the source told news agency Press Trust of India.
Sports such as hockey, badminton, wrestling, cricket and shooting have been dropped by organisers of next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. A total of 10 disciplines, nine less than Birmingham 2022, have been retained in order to keep the event budget-friendly.
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The development, which was announced in October last year, came as a huge blow for India as these disciplines (except cricket, which has hardly ever been included) have accounted for a majority of their medals at the CWG as well as in the Olympics and Asian Games.
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More Shorts“This has been proposed to ensure that our medal tally does not suffer. An informal proposal has been put across, we will see how the host city responds to it,” the source added.
The 23rd edition of the Commonwealth Games will be taking place in Glasgow between 23 July and 2 August, with the city having previously hosted the event in 2014.
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The hosting rights for CWG 2026 had originally been awarded to the state of Victoria in Australia in 2022. Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews, however, confirmed in July 2023 that the state was backing out, leaving the quadrennial games that is limited to Britain’s former colonies without a host for more than a year.
India had previously hosted the Games in 2010 in Delhi, in which the host country had finished second on the points table with 38 gold, 27 silver and 36 bronze.