Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Former world No.1 doubles shuttler Chirag Shetty termed the exclusion of badminton from the 2026 Commonwealth Games curriculum a wrong decision, and questioned how the organisers could do away with the most popular sport in the event.
The 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games on Tuesday unveiled a heavily scaled-down roster, excluding hockey, shooting, cricket, badminton and wrestling from the curriculum, a move which will severely hurt India's medal prospects at the quadrennial event.
"I think it's a very bad decision, to be honest. I can say for badminton, I think it's the most watched sport. It's definitely one of the most watched sports in the Commonwealth Games," said Chirag, who along with partner Satwiksairaj Rankireddy is the 2022 Birmingham CWG men's doubles champions, besides being the mixed team gold medallist at Gold Coast in 2018.
He said the popularity of the sport in CWG could be gauged from the fact that virtually all badminton competitions are played in front of a packed house.
"I've been part of two editions at the Gold Coast and at the Birmingham editions. It's very difficult to get a seat for any of the rounds. I think it's definitely a very bad decision for the badminton community in general.
"I hope they (CWG organisers) will look into it and probably change it. As a part of the badminton community, we are disappointed. We were definitely looking forward to defend our title." The World Championship bronze medallist added that the national sports federations and the government should take up the issue with the top-most authority in the CWG.
"As far as boycotting the event goes, I think it's in the hand of the government and associations to decide. I think it has to go at the highest place. I think the higher bodies have to be decisive and take it up to the higher authorities.
"Not just for badminton, even hockey, wrestling, I think all the sports which India does well at are being removed. I think it's definitely important that we fight for it."