Commonwealth Games 2026: Who are India's medal contenders today, July 24 (Day 1)?

Opportunity for India to clinch its first medal at the Games

The Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow officially got underway on July 23 with an energetic opening ceremony, launching 10 days of high-stakes competition across a streamlined, 10-sport framework.

With traditional Indian medal strongholds like wrestling, badminton, table tennis, and hockey omitted from this scaled-down roster, the contingent’s campaign requires maximum efficiency from the outset.

Every final becomes crucial, placing an increased emphasis on capitalizing early in core individual disciplines.

Day 0 provided an encouraging prelude on the rinks at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) as India’s lawn bowls campaign kicked off in style.

Debutant Putul Sonowal delivered a stunning upset in the Men’s Singles by taking down 2023 world champion Ryan Bester of Canada in a tense tie-break.

Meanwhile, Birmingham 2022 gold medalists Pinki Singh and Rupa Rani Tirkey continued their strong CWG pedigree in the Women’s Pairs, edging out Malta in another tie-break to give India a winning start in sectional play.

As the action pivots to Day 1 on Friday, July 24, the transition from group-stage momentum to direct podium contention accelerates rapidly. India’s brightest medal prospects rest on a battle-tested group of elite para powerlifters stepping into the spotlight under the lights at the SEC Armadillo.

India’s medal contenders on Day 1 (July 24) in Commonwealth Games 2026

Para-powerlifting – Men’s Lightweight Final – Parmjeet Kumar, Ashok Kumar Malik

In the Men’s Lightweight Para Powerlifting final, India will field a formidable duo in Parmjeet Kumar and Ashok Kumar Malik.

Parmjeet carved his name into Indian sports history as the country’s first-ever medalist at the World Para Powerlifting Championships, winning bronze in Tbilisi in 2021 and backed it up with a silver at the Asia-Oceania Championships.

Alongside him, Ashok Kumar Malik brings one of the contingent’s most remarkable comeback stories. After a devastating 2018 arm injury that fractured his radius and ulna, Malik fought back to claim bronze at the 2022 Asian Para Games, gold at the 2022 Asia-Oceania Championships, and a silver at the 2024 Egypt World Cup with a massive 196 kg bench.

Standing in their way, however, is a stacked global field led by Malaysia’s two-time Paralympic champion and world record holder Bonnie Bunyau Gustin, alongside England’s Mark Swan and Nigeria’s Rio 2016 gold medalist Roland Ezuruike.

Para-powerlifting – Men’s Heavyweight Final – Sudhir

Later in the session, defending Commonwealth champion Sudhir takes the stage in the Men’s Heavyweight final, looking to redeem himself on the big stage.

While Sudhir originally captured gold four years ago in Birmingham with a Games-record performance, he was subsequently stripped of the medal and handed a two-year suspension after an in-competition sample tested positive for morphine, a prohibited narcotic.

Having served his ban through December 2024, Glasgow marks his major multi-sport comeback. Armed with a high-coefficient bench press strategy and immense raw strength, Sudhir remains a dangerous competitor, but proving himself on the podium will mean overcoming top-ranked English powerhouse Matthew Harding and Malaysia’s Bryan Junency Gustin.

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