India’s Commonwealth Games Legacy: 602 medals, 4th in all-time standings, weightlifting most successful sport

India’s Commonwealth Games Legacy: 602 medals, 4th in all-time standings, weightlifting most successful sport

4 min readUpdated: Aug 3, 2026 03:13 PM IST

Sunday saw the conclusion of a truncated Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow, where India finished with a creditable haul of 39 medals, including 13 gold, 17 silver, and nine bronze. The achievement was notable given the reduced programme, which excluded wrestling, shooting, badminton, hockey, and table tennis, sports that have historically contributed significantly to India’s medal tally.

In this edition, boxing stood out as India’s strongest discipline, delivering 10 medals, including seven gold, which was the highest tally by any nation in boxing at a single Commonwealth Games. Athletics contributed 16 medals, while weightlifting added eight to the overall count.

Australia topped the table with 171 medals (70 gold), followed by England with 110 and Canada with 62. India edged hosts Scotland into fourth place by virtue of a higher silver count. This continued India’s consistent run inside the top five, a position they have held in every edition since 2002.

Overall, India’s all-time Commonwealth Games medal tally now stands at 602 medals (215 gold, 207 silver, 180 bronze), placing them fourth in the all-time rankings behind Australia, England, and Canada.

Commonwealth Games Overall Historic Medal Tally

RankCountriesGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1Australia1,0738798232,775
2England8028288022,432
3Canada5295686121,709
4India215207180602
5New Zealand189246307742
6Scotland145152244541
7South Africa144143157444
8Kenya948492270
9Nigeria9291112295
10Wales84114167365
11Jamaica755763195
12Malaysia747694244
13Northern Ireland405068158
14Singapore403336109
15Pakistan27272983
16Cyprus26212976
17Uganda19182663
18Ghana15212965
19Trinidad and Tobago13263069
20Bahamas12141440
21Cameroon12132045
22Nauru10111233
23Samoa7131131
24Zimbabwe691429
25Tanzania671124
26Zambia5132644
27Sri Lanka5101126
28Papua New Guinea58316
29Fiji571325
30Botswana56819
31Namibia551727
32Hong Kong521017
33Guyana46616
34Isle of Man43714
35Grenada4228
36Barbados35816
37Bermuda3249
38British Virgin Islands3003
39Mauritius211922
40Mozambique2439
41Bangladesh2428
42Jersey2136
43Saint Vincent & the Grenadines2013
44Guernsey1539
45Dominica1214

46

Lesotho1135
Saint Lucia1135
48Cayman Islands1012

49

Kiribati1001
Saint Kitts and Nevis1001
51Seychelles0347
52Rhodesia and Nyasaland0257
53Malta0178
54Swaziland0134
55The Gambia0123
56Ireland0101
57Tonga0044

58

Malawi0033
Norfolk Island0033
Vanuatu0033

61

Cook Islands0011
Gabon0011
Niue0011
Rwanda0011
Solomon Islands0011
Tuvalu0011
Total3,8233,8154,16611,804

Australia lead the all-time Commonwealth Games medal tally with a staggering 2,775 medals, including 1,073 gold medals. England are second with 2,432 medals (802 gold), followed by Canada in third with 1,709 medals (529 gold medals).

India’s performance at Commonwealth Games over the editions

YearGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1930 HamiltonDid not participate
1934 London001112th
1938 Sydney0000
1950 AucklandDid not participate
1954 Vancouver0000
1958 Cardiff21038th
1962 PerthDid not participate
1966 Kingston343108th
1970 Edinburgh534126th
1974 Christchurch483156th
1978 Edmonton555156th
1982 Brisbane583166th
1986 EdinburghDid not participate
1990 Auckland13811325th
1994 Victoria6117246th
1998 Kuala Lumpur7108257th
2002 Manchester302217694th
2006 Melbourne221711504th
2010 New Delhi3827361012nd
2014 Glasgow153019645th
2018 Gold Coast262020663rd
2022 Birmingham211623604th
2026 Glasgow13179394th
Total2152071806024th

India’s most successful edition remains the 2010 Delhi Games, where the country recorded its best-ever performance with 101 medals (38 gold, 27 silver, 36 bronze) and finished second behind Australia. This remains their only top-two finish in Games history. The turnaround since the 1958 Cardiff Games, where India won its first-ever gold medals, including Milkha Singh’s iconic 440-yard victory, has been remarkable.

Medals won by India at Commonwealth Games in different sports

SportRankGoldSilverBronzeTotal
Shooting2634428135
Wrestling2493926114
Weightlifting2475737141
Boxing618162054
Badminton31081331
Athletics139212252
Table tennis21051328
Archery23148
Judo526715
Field hockey21416
Squash51225
Tennis21124
Lawn bowls111102
Para powerlifting60022
Gymnastics120123
Cricket30101
Swimming170011
Total2152071806024th

Weightlifting, wrestling, and shooting have been India’s biggest medal contributors across Games history. Weightlifting leads the chart with 141 medals (47 gold, 57 silver, 37 bronze), followed by shooting with 135 medals (63 gold, 44 silver, 28 bronze) and wrestling with 114 medals (49 gold, 39 silver, 26 bronze). These three sports alone account for 390 of India’s total 602 medals, more than 60 per cent of the country’s overall haul.

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Boxing has contributed 54 medals (18 gold, 16 silver, 20 bronze), while athletics has delivered 52 medals (nine gold, 21 silver, 22 bronze). Badminton and table tennis have also been productive, with 31 and 28 medals respectively. India have also won medals in judo, archery, hockey, squash, tennis, lawn bowls, gymnastics, cricket, swimming, and para powerlifting.

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