The 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad, India, will feature 17 sports, up from just 10 at the ongoing Glasgow Games, and cricket, shooting, and archery are among those well placed to return to the program.
According to BBC Sport, discussions on the sporting program remain ongoing between Commonwealth Sport, sporting federations, and the Indian organizing committee. No final decisions have been made. The Glasgow Games included only 10 sports because of the rushed build-up after the Australian state of Victoria pulled out as host.
India Olympic Association's Raghu Iyer pointed toward sports with particular relevance to the host nation. "There are many sports who will feel they have missed out," he said. "There are sports in which India has done very well, shooting, archery and many other sports." When pressed on whether that placed cricket, archery, and shooting at the front of the queue for inclusion, Iyer responded: "While I do not have the mandate to talk about any of these, you have been pretty interesting with the choices you have mentioned…" He added: "We also want to have sports that India have traditionally done well in."
Cricket returned to the Commonwealth Games for Birmingham 2022 as a women's-only T20 event, the first time the sport had appeared in 24 years. Its cause is helped by a separate factor: at least two team sports are expected to be added for 2030. Hockey and rugby sevens are also options under consideration.
Other sports being discussed for inclusion include badminton, 3x3 basketball and 3x3 wheelchair basketball, beach volleyball, cycling, diving, judo, rhythmic gymnastics, squash, triathlon and para triathlon, and wrestling. India also holds the right as host nation to propose two new sports.
Commonwealth Sport chief executive Katie Sadlier described the expansion from Glasgow's stripped-down program as a deliberate reset rather than a return to the scale of previous Games. The Victoria Games had included 26 sports. The Glasgow Games cut the cost of hosting from around £800 million to £160 million. "17 is, we think, the right number," Sadlier said. "The Victoria Games was 26 sports. We recognised we needed to reset and bring the Games into something that was affordable around the Commonwealth. What we have done here has been brilliant but we will bring back a few sports. We won't go beyond that number."
The 2030 Games mark the centenary of the Commonwealth Games. Events will be held at the 120,000-seat Narendra Modi Stadium, which has hosted two cricket World Cup finals in recent years. India has also expressed interest in hosting the 2036 Olympic Games, and Iyer described the 2030 Games as part of that broader ambition. "Any sporting event will be a step towards that," he said. "We are looking purely at ensuring that these Commonwealth Games are one of the best that have been held."
