Athletics
2019 in Indian Sports – Major Events Schedule
The pre-Olympic year is always a big year in sport and 2019 is no different. The year provides sportspersons struggling with form or injury the last opportunity to make any major technique changes or improvements, while athletes playing well look to discover that winning feeling going into Tokyo 2020. 2019 will also see World Championships that double up as Olympic Qualifiers, besides other Olympic qualification tournaments.
Below is a full schedule for announced major events in 2019 that are expected to see participation from elite Indian athletes and Olympic medal hopefuls.
Besides the quintessential Indian sport of cricket, only those sports are included which, in this writer’s opinion, may see India win medals in Tokyo, namely badminton, wrestling, shooting, archery, tennis, hockey, weightlifting, athletics and artistic gymnastics. Table Tennis is also included on account of the breakthrough performances in 2018.
Boxing has not been included as its schedule is currently in limbo with the IOC having frozen contact with AIBA. No junior or youth level tournaments are included, except in weightlifting where they contribute towards the world rankings that form the basis for Olympic qualification. Also, no domestic tournaments or commercial leagues have been included.
JANUARY:
| Dates | Sport | Event | Comments |
| 01-05 | Tennis | Maharashtra Open | ATP 250 |
| 05-31 (*Feb 1) | Football | AFC Asian Cup | Champion of Asia |
| 14-27 | Tennis | Australian Open | Grand Slam |
| 15-20 | Badminton | Malaysia Masters | Super 500 |
| 15-20 | Table Tennis | Hungarian Open | World Tour |
| 22-27 | Badminton | Indonesia Masters | Super 500 |
| 23-10 | Cricket | India Tour of New Zealand | 5 ODIs, 3 T20Is |
| 24-27 | Wrestling | Grand Prix Ivan Yariguin, Russia | Freestyle Ranking Series |
| 24-10 | Cricket | India tour of New Zealand Women | 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is |
FEBRUARY:
| Dates | Sport | Event | Comments |
| 01-02 | Tennis | Davis Cup Qualifiers: India v Italy |
|
| 07-10 | Weightlifting | EGAT Cup, Thailand | Oly Qual Ranking – Silver Level |
| 08-10 | Wrestling | Grand Prix Zagreb Open | Greco Ranking Series |
| 14-10 | Cricket | England Tour of India Women | 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is (to be confirmed) |
| 17-23 | Tennis | Dubai Open | WTA Premier 5 |
| 21-24 | Gymnastics | Apparatus World Cup, Melbourne | Contributes to Olympic Qualification |
| 22-27 | Shooting | World Cup Rifle/Pistol, New Delhi | Olympic Qualifier |
| 22-27 | Weightlifting | World Cup, China | Oly Qual Ranking – Silver Level |
| 23-24 | Wrestling | Hungarian Grand Prix | Greco Ranking Series |
| 24-13 | Cricket | Australia Tour of India | 5 ODIs, 2 T20Is |
MARCH:
| Dates | Sport | Event | Comments |
| TBA | Cricket | Zimbabwe Tour of India | 1 Test, 3 ODIs |
| 01-05 | Weightlifting | Fajr Cup, Iran | Oly Qual Ranking – Silver Level |
| 06-10 | Badminton | All England Championships | Super 1000 |
| 06-17 | Tennis | BNP Paribas Open, USA | ATP 1000, WTA Premier Mandatory |
| 08-15 | Weightlifting | Las Vegas International Open | Oly Qual Ranking – Bronze Level |
| 14-17 | Gymnastics | Apparatus World Cup, Baku | Contributes to Olympic Qualification |
| 17-19 | Athletics | Asian 20KM Championships, Japan |
|
| 17-25 | Shooting | World Cup Shotgun, Mexico | Olympic Qualifier |
| 19-31 | Tennis | Miami Open | ATP 1000, WTA Premier Mandatory |
| 20-23 | Gymnastics | Apparatus World Cup, Doha | Contributes to Olympic Qualification |
| 26-31 | Badminton | Indian Open | Super 500 |
| 26-31 | Table Tennis | Qatar Open | World Tour Platinum |
| 27-01 | Shooting | 10m Asian Championship, Taipei | No Olympic Qualification |
| 31 | Wrestling | Beat the Streets: India v USA, LA | Women only |
APRIL:
| Dates | Sport | Event | Comments |
| 02-07 | Badminton | Malaysia Open | Super 750 |
| 05-07 | Table Tennis | Asian Cup, Japan |
|
| 07-15 | Shooting | World Cup Shotgun, UAE | Olympic Qualifier |
| 09-14 | Badminton | Singapore Open | Super 500 |
| 14-21 | Tennis | Monte Carlo Masters | ATP 1000 |
| 20-30 | Weightlifting | Asian Championships, China | Oly Qual Ranking – Gold Level |
| 21-24 | Athletics | Asian Championships, Doha |
|
| 21-28 | Table Tennis | World Championships, Budapest |
|
| 23-28 | Badminton | Asia Championships, China |
|
| 23-28 | Wrestling | Asian Championships, China | No Olympic Qualification |
| 23-28 | Shooting | World Cup Rifle/Pistol, China | Olympic Qualifier |
| 23-28 | Archery | World Cup, Colombia | No Olympic Qualification |
MAY:
| Dates | Sport | Event | Comments |
| 04-12 | Tennis | Madrid Open | ATP 1000, WTA Premier Mandatory |
| 07-12 | Archery | World Cup, China | No Olympic Qualification |
| 09-17 | Shooting | World Cup Shotgun, Korea | Olympic Qualifier |
| 11-12 | Weightlifting | Grand Prix, Peru | Oly Qual Ranking – Silver Level |
| 11-12 | Athletics | World Relays, Japan |
|
| 12-19 | Tennis | Italian Open | ATP 1000, WTA Premier 5 |
| 18 | Athletics | Diamond League, Shanghai | Men’s Javelin Throw Included |
| 19-21 | Gymnastics | World Challenge Cup, China | No Olympic Qualification |
| 19-26 | Badminton | Sudirman Cup, China |
|
| 21-26 | Archery | World Cup, Turkey | No Olympic Qualification |
| 23-26 | Gymnastics | World Challenge Cup, Croatia | No Olympic Qualification |
| 24-25 | Wrestling | Sassari City Open, Italy | Ranking Series |
| 26-30 | Shooting | World Cup Rifle/Pistol, Munich | Olympic Qualifier |
| 26-09 | Tennis | French Open | Grand Slam |
| 28-02 | Table Tennis | China Open | World Tour Platinum |
| 30-02 | Gymnastics | World Challenge Cup, Slovenia | No Olympic Qualification |
| 30-14 Jul | Cricket | World Cup, England |
|
JUNE:
| Dates | Sport | Event | Comments |
| 01-08 | Weightlifting | Junior World Championships, Fiji | Oly Qual Ranking – Gold Level |
| 04-09 | Table Tennis | Hong Kong Open | World Tour |
| 06-16 | Hockey | Men Hockey Series Final, India | Qualification to Oly Qualifier |
| 08-09 | Weightlifting | British Championships | Oly Qual Ranking – Bronze Level |
| 11-16 | Archery | World Championships, Holland | Olympic Qualifier |
| 12-16 | Table Tennis | Japan Open | World Tour Platinum |
| 13 | Athletics | Diamond League, Oslo | Men’s Javelin Throw Included |
| 15-23 | Hockey | Women Hockey Series Final, Japan | Qualification to Oly Qualifier |
JULY:
| Dates | Sport | Event | Comments |
| TBA | Cricket | India Tour of West Indies | 2 Tests, 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is |
| 01-14 | Tennis | Wimbledon, London | Grand Slam |
| 02-07 | Archery | World Cup, Berlin | No Olympic Qualification |
| 02-07 | Table Tennis | Korea Open | World Tour |
| 02-09 | Shooting | World Championship Shotgun, Italy | No Olympic Qualification |
| 06-07 | Weightlifting | Friendship Tournament, Tokyo | Oly Qual Ranking – Silver Level |
| 09-14 | Weightlifting | Commonwealth Champs, Samoa | Oly Qual Ranking – Bronze Level |
| 09-14 | Table Tennis | Australian Open | World Tour Platinum |
| 12 | Athletics | Diamond League, Monaco | Men’s Javelin Throw Included |
| 12-14 | Wrestling | Yasar Dogu, Turkey | Freestyle Ranking Series |
| 16-21 | Badminton | Indonesia Open | Super 1000 |
| 23-28 | Badminton | Japan Open | Super 750 |
| 26-28 | Wrestling | Oleg Karavaev, Belarus | Greco Ranking Series |
| 30-04 | Badminton | Thailand Open | Super 500 |
AUGUST:
| Dates | Sport | Event | Comments |
| 05-11 | Tennis | Rogers Cup, Montreal | ATP 1000, WTA Premier 5 |
| 06-11 | Badminton | Hyderabad Open | Super 100 |
| 11-18 | Tennis | Western & Southern Open, USA | ATP 1000, WTA Premier 5 |
| 13-18 | Table Tennis | Bulgarian Open | World Tour |
| 15-22 | Shooting | World Cup Shotgun, Finland | Olympic Qualifier |
| 18 | Athletics | Diamond League, Birmingham | Men’s Javelin Throw Included |
| 19-25 | Badminton | World Championships, Basel |
|
| 20-25 | Table Tennis | Czech Open | World Tour |
| 26-08 | Tennis | US Open | Grand Slam |
| 28-02 | Shooting | World Cup Rifle/Pistol, Rio | Olympic Qualifier |
| 29 | Athletics | Diamond League, Birmingham | Men’s Javelin Throw Included |
| 30-31 | Weightlifting | Cup of Blue Swords, Germany | Oly Qual Ranking – Bronze Level |
SEPTEMBER:
| Dates | Sport | Event | Comments |
| 06-08 | Gymnastics | World Challenge Cup, Hungary | No Olympic Qualification |
| 13-15 | Tennis | Davis Cup Asia Group I | India participates if lost in Feb |
| 14-15 | Gymnastics | World Challenge Cup, Paris | No Olympic Qualification |
| 14-22 | Wrestling | World Championships, Astana | Olympic Qualifier |
| 15-22 | Table Tennis | Asian Championships, Bali |
|
| 17-22 | Badminton | China Open | Super 1000 |
| 18-27 | Weightlifting | World Championships, Thailand | Oly Qual Ranking – Gold Level |
| 19-22 | Gymnastics | World Challenge Cup, Portugal | No Olympic Qualification |
| 22-28 | Tennis | Wuhan Open | WTA Premier 5 |
| 24-29 | Badminton | Korea Open | Super 500 |
| 27-06 | Athletics | World Championships, Doha |
|
| 28-06 | Tennis | China Open | WTA Premier Mandatory |
OCTOBER:
| Dates | Sport | Event | Comments |
| TBA | Cricket | South Africa Tour of India | 3 Tests |
| 01-06 | Table Tennis | Swedish Open | World Tour |
| 04-06 | Weightlifting | Mediterranean Cup, San Marino | Oly Qual Ranking – Silver Level |
| 04-13 | Gymnastics | World Championships, Germany | Olympic Qualifier |
| 06-13 | Tennis | Shanghai Masters | ATP 1000 |
| 08-13 | Table Tennis | German Open | World Tour Platinum |
| 10-14 | Shooting | World Cup Final Shotgun, UAE | No Olympic Qualification |
| 15-20 | Badminton | Denmark Open | Super 750 |
| 18-20 | Table Tennis | Women’s World Cup, China |
|
| 20-27 | Weightlifting | Asian Junior Championship, PRK | Oly Qual Ranking – Gold Level |
| 22-27 | Badminton | French Open | Super 750 |
| 22-27 | Tennis | WTA Elite Trophy, China |
|
| 25-27 | Hockey | Olympic Qualifiers | To be confirmed |
| 25-27 | Table Tennis | Men’s World Cup, China |
|
| 27-03 | Tennis | WTA Finals, China |
|
| 28-03 | Tennis | Paris Masters | ATP 1000 |
NOVEMBER:
| Dates | Sport | Event | Comments |
| TBA | Archery | Asian Championship, Bangkok | Olympic Qualifier |
| TBA | Cricket | Bangladesh Tour of India | 2 Tests, 3 T20Is |
| 01-03 | Hockey | Olympic Qualifiers | To be confirmed |
| 05-10 | Shooting | Asian Championship, Doha | Olympic Qualifier |
| 05-10 | Badminton | China Open | Super 750 |
| 06-10 | Table Tennis | Team World Cup, Tokyo |
|
| 10-17 | Tennis | ATP Finals, London |
|
| 12-17 | Badminton | Hong Kong Open | Super 500 |
| 12-17 | Table Tennis | Austrian Open | World Tour Platinum |
| 16-17 | Wrestling | Women’s World Cup | No Olympic Qualification |
| 18-24 | Tennis | Davis Cup Finals, Spain | India participates if won in Feb |
| 21-24 | Gymnastics | Apparatus World Cup, Germany | Contributes to Olympic Qualification |
| 22-24 | Weightlifting | Australian Open | Oly Qual Ranking – Bronze Level |
| 26-01 | Badminton | Syed Modi International, Lucknow | Super 300 |
| 30-01 | Wrestling | Greco World Cup, Iran | No Olympic Qualification |
DECEMBER:
| Dates | Sport | Event | Comments |
| TBA | Cricket | West Indies Tour of India | 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is |
| 11-15 | Badminton | World Tour Finals, China |
|
| 12-15 | Table Tennis | World Tour Grand Finals |
|
| 14-15 | Wrestling | Men’s Freestyle World Cup, Iran | No Olympic Qualification |
