Harmanpreet Singh, captain of the Indian men’s hockey team, described the decision to omit hockey from the 2026 Commonwealth Games as ‘unfortunate’ and disclosed that his team planned to win gold in the tournament. On the day of facing reigning world champion Germany in a bilateral series at Major Dhyan Chand Stadium here, Indian men’s team head coach Craig Fulton and Harmanpreet were holding a pre-match press conference when they learned of the development.
“I need time to think about it. It’s what it is. Unfortunately (choice), but at the same time, I am thinking about today and what will happen tomorrow and the day after. That’s for later when we can figure out the repercussions and what occurs next,” Fulton added.
Harmanpreet Singh, captain of the Indian men’s hockey team, called the decision to exclude hockey from the 2026 Commonwealth Games ‘unfortunate’ and stated that his team intended to win gold in the tournament. On the day of their bilateral series against reigning world champion Germany at Major Dhyan Chand Stadium, Indian men’s team head coach Craig Fulton and Harmanpreet were holding a pre-match press conference when they were informed of the situation.
“I need some time to think about it. That’s what it is. Unfortunately (decision), but I’m also thinking about today and what will happen tomorrow and the next day. That’s for later when we can assess the consequences and what happens next,” Fulton said.
The 23rd edition of the CWG will be held in Glasgow from July 23 to August 2, 2026, and will include only ten sports, excluding hockey, cricket, wrestling, table tennis, badminton, and squash. Shooting, which was also removed from the Birmingham 2022 CWG schedule, is still pending. When Glasgow hosted the CWG in 2014, the program featured 19 sports.
In most of the sports that were withdrawn from the Games, India won many medals in Birmingham. India won 61 medals, including 22 gold, at the previous edition of the Games. Of their total count, twelve came from wrestling, seven from boxing and table tennis, six from badminton, and two from hockey and squash.