India has taken part in every Commonwealth Games since 1934 except four editions, and its medal tally has grown from a single bronze to well over 600 across that span.
The early decades
India’s Commonwealth Games story began at the 1934 British Empire Games in London, where wrestler Rashid Anwar won bronze in the 74kg freestyle category – the country’s first-ever medal at the Games. Progress was slow for several decades before shooting and weightlifting became India’s core strengths from the 1990s onward. At Auckland 1990, India won 32 medals (13 gold, 8 silver, 11 bronze) to finish fifth, including the country’s first-ever Commonwealth Games shooting gold and first judo medals.
The 2000s breakthrough
By Melbourne 2006, India had climbed to 50 medals (22 gold, 17 silver, 11 bronze) and fourth place, with shooter Samaresh Jung alone contributing seven medals, including five golds, to win the Games’ David Dixon Award for the most outstanding athlete.
New Delhi 2010: the peak
Hosting the Games for the first time transformed India’s campaign. At New Delhi 2010, India won a staggering 101 medals – 39 gold, 26 silver and 36 bronze – to finish second on the medal table, still the country’s best-ever performance at a single edition.
Recent editions
India won 61 medals (22 gold, 16 silver, 23 bronze) at Birmingham 2022, before a reduced ten-sport programme in Glasgow trimmed that to 39 medals (13 gold, 17 silver, 9 bronze) in 2026, still enough for fourth place. Shooting remains India’s most successful Commonwealth Games sport of all time, with 135 total medals including 63 golds – a discipline that didn’t even feature at Glasgow 2026 but is confirmed to return for Ahmedabad 2030.
For the individuals behind these numbers, see our list of India’s most successful Commonwealth Games athletes and our profile of Mirabai Chanu’s own remarkable Commonwealth Games career.