Commonwealth Games 2026: India eye first track cycling medal

Track cycling has been part of the Commonwealth Games since 1934. India, who first competed in the sport in 1938, have appeared in the sport in six editions so far.

When a six-member contingent takes to the velodrome in Glasgow for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, it'll be India's seventh appearance in track cycling at the quadrennial event.

However, the country is still searching for its first medal in the sport.

However, recent performances at the Track Asia Cup and the Asian Track Cycling Championships have raised hopes of a first medal

Recent performances of the squad

The Indian squad consists of six cyclists who have performed well in multiple events in recently and will hope to carry that momentum into Glasgow.

Harshveer Singh is one of India's most experienced cyclist. He became the first Indian endurance cyclist to compete at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships.

He has won silver medals in the Team Pursuit, Omnium and Points Race at the Asian Track Cycling Cup, a bronze medal at the 2024 Presov Grand Prix in Slovakia and a silver medal in the Men's Points Race at the 2026 UCI Summer Slam III in the United States. He also represented India at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth games.

E. David Beckham competes in the sprint events. In 2025, he set two national records at the UCI Track Nations Cup in Turkey in the Men's Sprint qualifying and Team Sprint events. He also won a silver medal in the Men's Elite Keirin and finished fifth in the Keirin final at the 2026 Asian Track Cycling Championships.

Ronaldo Singh competes in the Sprint and Team Sprint events. He won a gold medal in the Men's Sprint and a bronze medal in the same event at the 2026 Track Asia Cup in New Delhi.

Jemsh Singh competes in the Men's Elite Keirin and he finished fifth in the final at the 2026 Asian Track Cycling Championships.

Rojit Singh competes in the sprint events, including the Men's Team Sprint. He recently won the gold medal in the Men's 200m Sprint at the 2026 Track Asia Cup in Chennai.

Dinesh competes in the endurance events and he won the gold medal in the Men's Elite Team Pursuit at the Tashkent Grand Prix in Uzbekistan along with Harshveer Singh, Sahil Kumar and Vishavjeet Singh.

With several cyclist heading into the games after strong performances in recent months, India will hope Glasgow 2026 becomes the edition where it finally wins its firs ever Commonwealth games medal in track cycling.

What is track cycling?

Track cycling is a form of cycle racing that takes place on a specially built oval-shaped indoor track called a velodrome. Unlike road cycling, cyclists compete on a smooth wooden track in races that test either speed or endurance. There are two main types of events in track cycling.

Sprint events focus on speed, acceleration and explosive power.

Sprint: Two cyclists race head-to-head over a short distance, with tactics playing an important role before the final sprint.

Team Sprint: Teams of cyclists race against the clock, with each cyclist leading for one lap before peeling off, while the final rider finishes the race.

Keirin: Cyclists follow a motorised pacer for the opening laps before sprinting to the finish once the pacer leaves the track.

Endurance events focus on stamina, race strategy and consistency over longer distances.

Individual Pursuit: Two cyclists start from opposite sides of the track and try to catch each other. If neither cyclist catches the other, the cyclist with the faster time wins.

Team Pursuit: Two teams start from opposite sides of the track and race against each other. The team that catches the other team or records the faster time wins.

Points Race: Cyclists compete over a longer distance and earn points during intermediate sprints. The cyclist with the highest number of points wins.

Scratch Race: All cyclists start together, and the first cyclist to cross the finish line wins.

Omnium: Cyclists compete in multiple endurance events, with points from each race deciding the overall winner.

Elimination Race: The cyclist at the back of the field is eliminated after every few laps until only one cyclist remains.

At the Glasgow 2026 games, track cycling will be the only cycling discipline at the games. The competition will be held at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome from July 30 to August 2.

Indian Cycling squad for the Commonwealth Games

Ronaldo Singh, David Beckham, Jemsh Singh, Rojit Singh, Dinesh and Harshveer Singh.

Lisha Das will compete in para-cycling.