When India’s national anthem played in Glasgow, it was more often than not one of the country’s women standing on the top step of the podium. Eight of India’s 13 gold medals at the Commonwealth Games were won by women, making them the driving force behind India’s campaign.
The medals came from different arenas but told a similar story. Mirabai Chanu continued to set the standard in weightlifting, Asmita Dey created history on the judo mat, Sharmila Dhankar topped the podium in para athletics, while India’s women boxers turned the ring into their own stage with five gold medals. It was not the success of one discipline or one generation. It was the reflection of a system that has steadily begun producing champions.
For Indian Olympic Association president PT Usha, herself one of the athletes who changed the conversation around women in Indian sport, Glasgow represented far more than a medal tally.
“Seeing India’s women win eight of our 13 gold medals fills me with immense pride. These achievements are the result of years of dedication by the athletes, their families, coaches and support teams. More importantly, these champions are inspiring countless young girls across India to believe that they too can wear the India jersey and succeed on the world stage,” Usha said.
What stood out most, however, was not just the number of medals but the journeys behind them. Few of these champions came through comfortable pathways. Many arrived in Glasgow carrying stories of sacrifice that stretched far beyond the competition floor.
India’s women medallists at CWG 2026:
- Mirabai Chanu – Gold (Weightlifting)
- Sharmila Dhankar – Gold (Para Athletics – Shot Put F57-64)
- Asmita Dey – Gold (Judo)
- Preeti Pawar – Gold (Boxing – 54kg)
- Jaismine Lamboria – Gold (Boxing – 57kg)
- Sakshi Chaudhary – Gold (Boxing – 51kg)
- Priya Ghanghas – Gold (Boxing – 60kg)
- Arundhati Choudhary – Gold (Boxing – 70kg)
- Harjinder Kaur – Silver (Weightlifting – 69kg)
- Lovlina Borgohain – Silver (Boxing – 70kg)
- Rupal – Silver (Athletics – 400m)
- Nikita Dhyani – Silver (Athletics – 5000m)
- Seema Kaliramna – Bronze (Athletics – Discus Throw)
- Nikita – Bronze (Athletics – 1500m)
- Sonia Baishya – Bronze (Weightlifting – 48kg)
- Lisha Das – Bronze (Para Track Cycling – C4-C5 1000m Time Trial)
MEDALS FORGED THROUGH STRUGGLE
Preeti Pawar grew up in a family where wrestling was a way of life before choosing a different combat sport. Harjinder Kaur travelled kilometres on a bicycle to attend school before helping her father in the fields each evening, while financial struggles at home never allowed the dream of international success to fade. Seema Kaliramna returned to elite sport after motherhood, rebuilding her career with her husband serving as her coach.
Those stories are no longer exceptions in Indian sport. Across disciplines, women from villages, small towns and modest backgrounds are reaching the highest level through years of persistence rather than privilege. Glasgow simply became the latest stage where those journeys found their reward.
THE NEW FACE OF INDIAN SPORT
Five boxing gold medals from Preeti Pawar, Jaismine Lamboria, Sakshi Chaudhary, Priya Ghanghas and Arundhati Choudhary highlighted the extraordinary depth India has built in women’s boxing. Alongside Mirabai, Asmita Dey and Sharmila Dhankar, they ensured women accounted for more than 60 per cent of India’s gold-medal haul.
There was a time when an Indian woman winning gold at a major international event was treated as an extraordinary story. Glasgow suggested those days are fading. Today, Indian women are expected to challenge for medals across sports, and increasingly, they are expected to win them.
The numbers will remember that eight of India’s 13 gold medals came from women. What they will not fully capture is the distance these athletes travelled to stand on those podiums. In many ways, Glasgow was less about a golden week and more about how far Indian women’s sport has come.
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