FIH disappointed over exclusion of hockey from Commonwealth Games, said a big thing

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has expressed dissatisfaction at hockey's removal from the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2026. FIH has said clearly that this decision is incorrect and that the change is only related to this edition. After Victoria's withdrawal from hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to growing expenses, Glasgow has taken the lead.

Glasgow, which hosted a successful Commonwealth Games in 2014, announced on Tuesday that it would hold only 10 major sports in 2026, axing major sports such as hockey, badminton, wrestling, and squash. In this regard, FIH stated that CGF has confirmed to it that hockey is a sport dear to the Commonwealth Games Federation.

However, the Victorian government pulled out of hosting the Games, and the Commonwealth Games Federation had to confirm a new host for the 2026 Games. We have noted that the new concept for 2026 has been clarified as one that is truncated, including only 10 sports on offer as core events.

We are further disappointed with CGF's decision not to include hockey in the program of the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. However, the probability of not hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games would ease the pressure on the teams of India, Malaysia, and Pakistan, hence they will now be able to focus on the World Cup and Asian Games.

The Asian Games are paramount since it is also a qualification tournament for the next Olympic Games. This will help avoid the situation faced by the Indian women's team this year when it played the World Cup and Commonwealth Games in a span of 15 days.