Anabelle Smith and Melissa Tapper amongst Commonwealth Games athletes ruing axed sports activities

As the Commonwealth Games kicked off on its first full day of competitors, loads extra sat at at dwelling, many wishing it could possibly be them.

Organisers in 2026 ditched badminton, hockey, wrestling, highway biking, mountain biking, rhythmic gymnastics, rugby sevens, squash, desk tennis, triathlon, seashore volleyball, cricket and, probably the most storied of all, diving.

It has been held at each version because the first Empire Games in 1930, till this yr.

Of the 22 Commonwealth Games diving occasions, Anabelle Smith went to the previous 4, together with Glasgow 2014.

Twelve years in the past she gained bronze within the ladies’s synchronised 3m springboard with Maddison Keeney, however not in Glasgow like the remainder of her staff.

The Scottish capital didn’t have a facility to permit for diving, so Smith, Keeney and Co had been shipped to Edinburgh, the location of the 1970 and 1986 Games.

“[There was] obvious disappointment from the divers … but also an understanding,” Smith informed ABC Sport.

“It made sense they weren’t just gonna ship the divers up to Edinburgh, disappointing but they’ll power on and look ahead now.”

The 33-year-old had not been planning to defend her 3m synchro gold medal from Birmingham 2022, however is as an alternative attending her fifth Games as a spectator and a part of the Australian staff’s connection and belonging squad.

She’s joined by different athletes who’ve seen their sports activities axed, together with seashore volleyballer Chris McHugh and Melissa ‘Milly’ Tapper.

Her sport of desk tennis was additionally axed after being included in six straight Games from 2002 to 2022.

Tapper, an Olympian and Paralympian, embodies the inclusive and built-in nature of the Games maybe higher than anybody.

She gained staff bronze at Glasgow 2014 and singles gold on dwelling soil on the Gold Coast in 2018, and remains to be getting the prospect to flash her expertise within the staff lounge on the decked-out Glasgow Argyle Hotel.

“I’ve got a little bit of a call-up having the table tennis table in there,” she mentioned.

“We’ve had plenty of athletes and even some staff come through and challenge. Being around athletes everyone’s competitive. It’s a lot of fun.

“So although desk tennis is not technically within the Games, it is nonetheless part of the Games.”

Table tennis was a “core sport” for the Commonwealth Games and falls into the class of lots of the 2026 occasions, in that it could possibly be held in present halls.

Field hockey, however, requires a bit more space and bespoke facilities. Its history in the Commonwealth Games is not quite as long as diving’s, but it had an elevated status as a “core sport”.

In 2014, it was held at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre, which remains operational and is located along the River Clyde, within the 13-kilometre corridor of the pared-back 2026 Games.

When cuts had been being made for 2026, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and Commonwealth member nations lobbied for the game’s inclusion, however they missed out as organisers opted largely for indoor sports activities with athletics the one out of doors occasion.

The Kookaburras have won all seven men’s gold medals since 1998, while the Hockeyroos have also never missed the podium, boasting four gold, two silver and a bronze.

Kookaburras captain Eddie Ockenden carried the flag in the Birmingham 2022 opening ceremony, as evidence of the sport’s standing in Australia’s Commonwealth Games movement, so Hockey Australia was “naturally upset” to overlook out in 2026.

“Our nationwide groups solely play a finite variety of worldwide tournaments, making each alternative to compete in a single extremely useful,” high performance director Bernard Savage said.

“The Commonwealth Games have all the time been a kind of alternatives that our groups have genuinely appeared ahead to. Beyond the competitors itself, the Commonwealth Games present a novel multi-sport surroundings that our athletes sit up for and aspire to be part of.

“The broader interest in the Games has provided an opportunity for our athletes and teams to inspire the next generation of hockey players across Australia and the Commonwealth.

“While this has been disappointing information, our focus stays firmly on our preparation for the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup.”

The World Cup will be played in Belgium and The Netherlands from August 15-30, shortly after the end of the Glasgow Games.

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