WFI requests CGF to not drop wrestling from CWG 2026, but not very hopeful

Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Sanjay Singh on Tuesday urged the Commonwealth Games Federation to retain the sport in the 2026 CWG roster but also conceded that prospective host Scotland might not relent.

India is one of the most successful wrestling nations in CWG, having won 114 medals in the sport till the 2022 edition.

Wrestling was part of the CWG roster in the last three editions. The last time wrestling missed out was in 2006 when basketball replaced it. Before that, wrestling was removed from the programme in 1998 for the addition of 10-pin bowling.

Scottish capital Glasgow is set to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games after Victoria pulled out, citing the huge cost of conducting the showpiece.

"I met CGF President Chris Jenkins and CGF CEO Katie Sadleir during NSFs (National Sports Federations) meeting with the Commonwealth Games Federation. We told them how important it is for India and several other nations to have wrestling on the CWG roster. They said that Scotland will have a final say," Singh told PTI.

"Wrestling is not very popular in the UK. England and Scotland do not send many wrestlers, so chances of it being retained are not very high. They told us the roster will have only 10-11 sports and Scotland will make the final decision," he added.

The last edition in Birmingham in 2022 had 20 sports with India winning 61 medals and 12 of those medals were snared by the wrestlers.

Out of 22 gold medals that India won, wrestling had contributed six, the highest by any sport followed by table tennis (4) and boxing (3).

The 2026 Commonwealth Games were to be held in multiple cities across Victoria but the Australian state made a shock withdrawal in July 2023 citing a steep rise in projected expenditure.

Shooting will, however, return to the Commonwealth Games roster after being kept out of the Birmingham programme.