Tanveer Singh Kapoor, Pune
Following India’s improving performances in global athletics and Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal win in Budapest, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) is planning to bid for the 2027 World Athletics Championships. The discussions with the government are still at earlier stages but top AFI officials expressed their confidence in their bidding plan.
A senior AFI official expressed the willingness to host the event since India is the world’s fifth largest economy, adding that hosting an event like the World Championships is a costly affair.
This year’s edition in Budapest concluded on Sunday, August 31, with Neeraj Chopra winning India’s first gold medal.
Qatar was the last Asian country to host the championship back in 2019. The next edition in 2025 will be hosted by Japan.
Chopra stated that the event coming to India would be great for its athletics. “It will be great. A lot of Indians are aware of javelin, but I would urge them to watch other athletic events too,” he said ahead of the Zurich Diamond League event on Thursday.
As of now, only Istanbul (Turkey) and Beijing (China) have declared their interest in hosting the 2027 World Athletics Championships, though five cities are considered to have thrown their hat in the ring. The deadline to submit the bid application is October 2. The ‘final’ deadline for the same is January 19, 2024.