Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hosted all members of the Indian contingent who returned with medals from the 2026 Commonwealth Games at his residence in New Delhi, where he interacted with the athletes and also held one-on-one conversations with a few of them. One of the medal winners, Narender Berwal, who finished second in the men’s 90kg boxing category, revealed an interesting story from his boxing career.
Berwal recalled an exchange he had with a Pakistani pugilist after defeating him at the 2015 World Military Games, saying that his opponent was surprised by the repeated use of the name Narendra in his life.
“Pakistani boxer said to me, ‘Aapka naam Narender hai, aapke coach ka naam Narender hai, aapke Pradhan Mantri ka naam Narendra hai. Mujhe Narendra naam se nafrat ho gayi hai‘…(Your name is Narender, your coach’s name is Narender, and your Prime Minister’s name is Narendra. I have started hating the name Narendra),” Berwal said in a video shared on PM Modi’s YouTube channel. Modi could not stop laughing after hearing the story.
Berwal was among the 10 Indian boxers who returned with medals from the Commonwealth Games, as India set the benchmark for the best-ever performance by a nation in boxing at any CWG edition, surpassing the previous record of six gold medals jointly held by England (1934 and 2018) and Canada (1986). India’s tally included seven gold and three silver medals.
Prime Minister Modi interacted with all the Indian athletes who secured medals at the Commonwealth Games 2026 and congratulated them for their dedication, hard work and contribution towards bringing glory to the country. India won 39 medals at the Games, including 13 gold, 17 silver and nine bronze.
While that was lower than the medal tally that India had consistently achieved in each of the previous editions of the Games since 2002, the reduced number of events in Glasgow needs to be taken into consideration. India nevertheless maintained its streak of finishing inside the top five at the Commonwealth Games, a run that has continued since 2002. India finished fourth at the CWG 2026.
The Glasgow Games concluded after 11 days of competition, with Scotland formally handing over the Commonwealth Games flag and ceremonial baton to India, which will host the landmark centenary edition of the multi-sport event in Ahmedabad in 2030.
