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India's Sporting Rise Under PM Modi: 39 Commonwealth Games Medals
Many years ago, in 1934, only six people from India travelled to a big sports competition in London, and the whole country came home with just one medal.
Fast forward to 2026, India sent 122 athletes to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and they won 39 medals.
That is a really big change.
One reason is a programme called TOPS, which the country's leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, started in 2014.
TOPS gives money to the best athletes so they can train with coaches, doctors and helpers from other countries.
Another programme, called Khelo India, looks for talented kids in schools and helps them become champions.
A weightlifter named Mirabai Chanu used to struggle to pay for bus fare, but later the government approved her expensive training in America in just one day.
She went on to win a silver medal at the Olympic Games.
Athletes are so grateful that they gave the Prime Minister their equipment, like javelins and racquets.
India's story shows that when a country helps its athletes, they can achieve amazing things.
India won 39 medals at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow: 13 gold, 17 silver and 9 bronze, with women winning eight of the 13 golds.
The 2026 contingent of 122 athletes competed across 10 sports, a dramatic leap from the six athletes and one bronze India won at the 1934 London Games.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) in 2014 to fund athletes and their full support structures.
Khelo India, launched in 2018, scouts school- and college-level talent through annual Youth Games and University Games.
Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu's elite overseas training, budgeted at around ₹70 lakh, was approved in a single day in April 2021 before she won Olympic silver in Tokyo.
- Who
- Indian athletes, including weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and badminton player PV Sindhu, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who backed them through government schemes.
- What
- India's sporting rise, marked by 39 medals at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, supported by the TOPS and Khelo India funding schemes.
- Where
- Glasgow, Scotland (2026 Commonwealth Games), with earlier Games in London (1934) and Cardiff (1958); training trips took place in the United States, Germany and Australia.
- When
- 2026 for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games; the article also covers events from 1934, 1958, 2014, 2018 and the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
- Why
- Because government initiatives such as TOPS and Khelo India removed financial barriers and gave elite athletes structured support.
Key facts
- 2026 Commonwealth Games medals
- 39 (13 gold, 17 silver, 9 bronze)
- 2026 contingent size
- 122 athletes across 10 sports
- Golds won by Indian women
- 8 of the 13 golds
- 1934 London Games result
- 1 bronze, won by wrestler Rashid Anwar
- First Commonwealth gold
- 1958, Milkha Singh (440 yards, Cardiff)
- TOPS launch year
- 2014
- Khelo India launch year
- 2018
- Mirabai Chanu's approved training budget
- Around ₹70 lakh, sanctioned in one day (April 2021)
Quotes
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Head of the Indian government, overseeing sports initiatives
“"The athletes' medals were not just a result of their hard work but also a reflection of a new India's confidence."”
deccanchronicle.com
“"I never thought a day like this would come," he said, "when you could even ask for an amount like this."”
deccanchronicle.com
Sources
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