CWG 2026: Shooting marks return in Victoria, exit for wrestling

CWG 2026 hosts announce full list of disciplines, golf to make debutGANDHINAGAR: Shooting has made a comeback to the Commonwealth Games, but wrestling has been dropped. Hosts Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games organisers announced the full programme on Wednesday. Shooting was dropped from the programme by the 2022 hosts, Birmingham, and didn't find a mention in the initial list released by the 2026 organisers in July this year, but made it to the full programme released by Victoria on Wednesday. Unhappy at wrestling getting the axe, Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) assistant secretary, Vinod Tomar, called for a boycott of the Games.

"They have deliberately removed wrestling as India were doing well at the CWG. The hosts should keep Olympic sports in their programme, irrespective of their strengths and weaknesses. It isn't just about India, even countries like Nigeria, which wins medals at the CWG, will be robbed of the opportunity. This way, you are killing the sport," Tomar said. "We will speak to the IOA and I feel we should boycott the Games," he added. IOA secretary Rajeev Mehta said India will write to CGF and the hosts about wrestling's exclusion. "We will write to them and raise our concern and ask them to include wrestling. It (wrestling) is an important sport for India and we will do our best to get it included," Mehta told TOI. Indian wrestlers had won 12 medals (6 gold, 1 silver, 5bronze) at the Birmingham CWG this year. Since 1966 to 2018, Australia has won 171 shooting medals at the Commonwealth Games (70 gold, 59 silver and 42 bronze), highest among the participating countries. India is second with 135 medals (63, 44, 28). On the other hand, wrestling, which made its CWG debut in 1930, has fetched only 53