Athletics Federation of India Sets Tough Commonwealth Games 2026 Qualifying Standards
NEW DELHI — The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has imposed stringent qualifying standards for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, requiring athletes in 17 events to match or surpass national records to be considered for selection, according to a report by The News Mill citing olympics.com.
By Source Reporters Newsdesk
Sun, 19 July 2026 · 2 min read
NEW DELHI — The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has imposed stringent qualifying standards for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, requiring athletes in 17 events to match or surpass national records to be considered for selection, according to a report by The News Mill citing olympics.com.
The Games will be staged from 23 July to 2 August 2026 in Scotland. With each nation capped at 32 athletes — no more than 16 women — the AFI has raised performance benchmarks to field a competitive Indian team, the federation said.
In men's events, national records must be beaten in the 100m, 400m, 1500m, 110m hurdles and hammer throw. Animesh Kujur's 100m record of 10.18 seconds falls short of the AFI's 10.16-second standard, while Tejas Shirse's 110m hurdles mark of 13.41 seconds also misses the required time, the report said.
Asian Games silver medallist Jyothi Yarraji, recovering from an ACL injury, must improve her 100m hurdles national record from 12.78 to 12.67 seconds. Vithya Ramraj, who equalled P.T. Usha's 400m hurdles record of 55.42 seconds, must run 54.67 to meet the new mark.
The men's javelin standard is 82.61 metres; Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, Sachin Yadav and Rohit Yadav have all previously exceeded it. Selectors retain discretion to include athletes who have not met the standards but are deemed strong medal contenders.
## Commonwealth Games 2026 Qualifying Standards: Key Marks
The AFI published event-by-event marks, including men's 100m 10.16s, women's 100m 11.17s, men's 400m 44.96s, men's 1500m 3:30.82, men's 5000m 13:19.64 and women's 10000m 31:14.14. No standard was set for the men's 4x400m relay; the mixed 4x400m mark is 3:16.00.
**Global Perspective:** Unlike Olympic qualification, where global bodies set universal marks, Commonwealth nations determine their own standards. At the 2022 Birmingham Games, India won 61 medals, eight in athletics.
**Sources**
- https://thenewsmill.com
- https://www.olympics.com
- https://sourcereporters.com/sport/commonwealth-games-2026/
- https://sourcereporters.com/sport/athletics/
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