Athletics
AFI to 'finalise' bidding for World Athletics C'ships 2027 in 'couple of days'
AFI president Sumariwalla updated the media about the progress in the bidding process during a joint event organised by the Indian federation and the World Athletics in Mumbai on Saturday.
AFI president Adille Sumariwalla
Athletics Federation of India (AFI) president Adille Sumariwalla said the federation will decide on bidding for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in 'the next couple of days'.
The next edition of the World Athletics Championships will take place in Japan in 2025, with India contemplating bidding for the 2027 edition of the marquee track and field event.
"We have not made a formal bid," Sumariwalla said during a joint event organised by the AFI and the World Athletics (WA) in Mumbai on Saturday.
"We are discussing that internally and in the next couple of days, we will finalise that," Sumariwalla added.
At the Budapest World Championships in August, the Tokyo Olympic gold medallist, Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian athlete ever to win a Worlds gold medal.
Coe welcomes India's bid to host 2036 Olympics
Meanwhile, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe welcomed India's decision to bid for the hosting rights of the 2036 Olympics.
"I would love to see the Olympic Games coming to India," Coe said.
"For very obvious reasons, partly personal and partly familiar reasons but India is an amazing country and I think the development of the games would be fantastic. I think everybody recognises that. But that is for the International Olympic Committee to decide," he said.
Coe also said that India has an important role to play in the development of athletics.
"It is very important that the countries that have the ability, the economics, the political will and the sporting passion to stage events. You would be surprised, as the president of World Athletics, if I did not want to stage one of the events," he said.
Coe also credited India for having the largest grassroots athletics programme in the world.
"India has the largest grassroots athletics programme in the world, circa 1 million young people. Delighted to join Wings_arenas at WINGS Sports Centre in Bandra with Adille Sumariwalla and athletes from 6 to 18 years of age and their academy coaches. Some impressive early signs," Coe wrote on Twitter.
