Why will PV Sindhu not participate in Commonwealth Games 2026?

PV Sindhu is not among the 125-member Indian contingent

India has been among the more successful nations in the Commonwealth Games, with the country finishing fourth in the 2022 edition with 61 medals, 22 of them being gold medals. India will look to improve this record in the 23rd edition of the Games in Glasgow, Scotland, which starts on July 23.

A strong 125-member contingent has been named to compete in 13 events across eight sports. Big names such as Neeraj Chopra and Mirabai Chanu have been mixed with new faces, such as the youngest 16-year-old Lisha Das.

Related: Who is all-time youngest Indian athlete to participate in Commonwealth Games 2026?

The country will look to make its mark in several sports where it finished empty-handed in 2022, including track cycling and artistic gymnastics.

Despite naming a multi-disciplinary contingent, some of the biggest Indian sportspersons will not feature in the upcoming Commonwealth Games. Chief among them is five-time CWG medallist PV Sindhu.

The 31-year-old badminton star, who recently made history by winning the Japan Open, is a legend of her sport. The two-time Olympic medallist has shown no signs of slowing down despite entering her thirties. As a result, fans will be slightly surprised to find her name missing from the Indian contingent for the Commonwealth Games 2026.

Also Read: Why is Cricket not part of Commonwealth Games 2026?

PV Sindhu is not playing in CWG 2026 because of no fault of her own

PV Sindhu’s absence from the tournament is through no fault of her own. She is currently 11th in the BWF women’s singles rankings, narrowly missing out on the top 10. She remains the second-highest ranked women’s singles player from the Commonwealth, just behind Canada’s Michelle Li.

The reason she will not be playing in the upcoming Games is that badminton has been entirely removed from the upcoming edition in Glasgow. And this happened because, due to the overinflated costs of hosting the tournament, CWG had to be shifted from Victoria, Australia, to Glasgow.

Because of this unexpected change, the tournament had to be streamlined, featuring just 10 core disciplines. Many sports were axed from the schedule, including badminton, table tennis, wrestling, and hockey.

This will be a big blow to India’s medal ambitions. Badminton contributed to six medals in the 2022 edition, behind only wrestling (12) and table tennis (7). Three of the six badminton medals were gold.

Badminton’s exclusion from Glasgow means that not only PV Sindhu, but stars like Lakshya Sen, Srikanth Kidambi, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, and Chirag Shetty all miss out on potentially clinching medals in the tournament.

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