A wake-up call after 2026 C’wealth Games hosts drop Malaysia’s core sports

GLASGOW has stepped in to host the next Commonwealth Games in 2026 but it has come at the expense of Malaysia potentially losing 16 medals.

This comes about as the Scottish city has decided to drop sports like badminton, diving, squash, rhythmic gymnastics and table tennis.

Badminton has been a popular sport and has never failed to be contested at the Commonwealth Games, so it’s no surprise for a country like Malaysia to cry foul.

But on hindsight, it should also serve as a catalyst for Malaysia not to just be dependent on just a few sports and channel focus into other sports.

Athletics and swimming have always provided the opportunity to win many medals but they are sports we have lost focus on and are now struggling to be competitive in every multi-Games.

Now should be the time to develop a comprehensive programme so that we do not have to worry when certain sports are dropped from the roster.

Instead of being regretful, Malaysia should actually thank Scotland and the Commonwealth Games Federation for hosting and retaining events where we have good gold medal chances like weightlifting, powerlifting and lawn bowls.

We have always consistently produced champions in weightlifting and lawn bowls, so it’s not a lost cause for the smaller contingent expected to head to Glasgow.

Badminton, diving, and squash have consistently been key contributors to Malaysia’s success at the Commonwealth Games level, with badminton alone delivering 31 of the country’s 67 gold medals.

But there were also occasions where Malaysia failed to win a single gold in badminton, such as the 1986 Commonwealth Games edition in Edinburgh.

In recent years, India have come up to challenge the domination enjoyed by Malaysia and England in badminton.

In diving, Malaysia have won three gold medals, starting with Pandelela Rinong in 2010, but failed to win any at the last Commonwealth Games in Birmingham two years ago.

The last time Malaysia won gold in squash was in 2014 through Datuk Nicol David, so it will be a big ask from S. Sivasangari to end the drought given that she is still finding her consistency level up against the top 10 players in the world.

In short, Malaysia should stop worrying about the sports that have been dropped and instead focus on those that are going to be contested in Glasgow in two years time.