Who is all-time oldest Indian athlete to participate in Commonwealth Games 2026?
125 Indian athletes will take part in the upcoming Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games 2026 will take place between July 23 and August 2 in Glasgow, Scotland, with 74 nations and territories taking part in 215 events across 10 sports. India, which finished fourth in 2022 with 61 medals, including 22 golds, will look to better its standing in this edition.
A total of 125 athletes have been chosen as part of the Indian contingent taking part in CWG. Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will be the biggest attraction, as he will go face to face with his arch-rival, Arshad Nadeem.
Priyanka Goswami, Mirabai Chanu, Lovlina Borgohain, and Srihari Nataraj are some of the other big names who will be vying for a medal.
A veteran member of the Indian contingent is star lawn bowler Dinesh Kumar, who, at 49 years of age, is the oldest Indian sportsperson competing in the Commonwealth Games 2026.
He will take part in the men’s pairs event in lawn bowls, where he is teamed with Navneet Singh. They will face England, Falkland Islands, Cook Islands, Botswana, and Namibia in the group stage.
Also Read: When & where will Commonwealth Games 2026 opening ceremony take place?
Dinesh Kumar’s career so far
Born in 1977 in Ranchi, Jharkhand, Dinesh was introduced to lawn bowls soon after the sport’s introduction in his state in 2006. A member of the Jharkhand Bowling Association, he made a winning start to his career by clinching gold on his debut at the National Lawn Bowls Championships in 2008.
In 2017, he won a gold medal in the Asian Lawn Bowls Championships. One of the finest lawn bowlers in the country, Dinesh added to his medal tally by winning bronze at the Asia Pacific Bowls Championships 2019 in Gold Coast, Australia. He also took part in the men’s triples and men’s fours events in the World Bowls Championship 2023.
In the Asian Lawn Bowls Championship 2025 in the Philippines, he won a bronze medal in men’s pairs and a silver medal in men’s fours. He also won a medal in men’s singles in the Bowls World Cup 2025.
Dinesh has kept up his winning form in 2026 as well, winning gold medals in both the men’s pairs and men’s fours events in the Asian Lawn Bowls Championships.
He has represented India in four Commonwealth Games: 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022. He came agonisingly close to a medal in 2014, with the men’s fours team losing to Australia in the bronze medal play-off. However, he avenged this defeat in 2022, clinching a silver in the men’s fours event, making India’s first CWG medal in the sport.
Alongside his playing career, Dinesh is also an officer with the Jharkhand Police.
When does Commonwealth Games 2026 start?
The Commonwealth Games 2026 begins on July 23, 2026, in Glasgow, Scotland.
Who is the oldest Indian athlete in Commonwealth Games 2026?
The oldest Indian athlete at the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow is 49-year-old lawn bowler Dinesh Kumar.
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Sushruta has spent over two years covering football, with a particular focus on Indian and international competitions. Alongside football, he has reported on a variety of sports, bringing curiosity and perspective to every story. When he’s not following the action, he can usually be found binge-watching movies or getting lost in a good book.