Will love to see India hosting top athletics events, Olympics in 2036, says World Athletics chief

MUMBAI: World Athletics considers India as a key market to expand due to its economic potential and would like to see the country host some of its flagship events, the sport’s global chief said here on Saturday.

Even though the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has not yet officially made a bid for the World Athletics Championships to be held in 2027 and is still in discussion mode, Lord Sebastian Coe, President, World Athletics, said he wants India to stage as many of top events as possible.

He said India hosting major events would be good for the development of track and field itself.

“I am not saying this because I am in India on a visit. I want India to stage as many of our events as possible. This is important for us. This is a very important market (for us). You have the largest population in the world, and you have a very strong economy, probably in real terms stronger than the USA. These are very important assets that come across when world sports looks across the landscape,” Lord Coe said. He was speaking at a press briefing on Friday at which the Athletics Federation of India celebrated the success of Indian track and field athletes in major events like the Asian Games, the World Athletics Championships and the Asian Championships.

AFI president and World Athletics vice-president Adille Sumariwalla said his organization will take a “couple of more days” to decide to make a formal bid for the World Athletics Championship, the next edition of which will be held in 2025 in Tokyo, Japan.

With India also considering a formal bid for the 2036 Olympics, Lord Coe said it is very important that countries that have the ability, the economy, the political will and sporting passion come forward to organise major events.

Though he said would promote his sport in the country, he said he would love to see the Olympic Games coming to India.

“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,” said Lord Coe, who is in Mumbai to attend the 141st Session of the International Olympic Committee.

IOC president Thomas Bach too had spoken in favourable terms when it comes to India hoping to host the Olympics in 2036.

Coe also spoke about the changes that he has brought out during his two terms as President and also highlighted the new approach World Athletics has taken for the growth of track and field athletics, ‘Controlled innovation good.’

He said they have discontinued competitions at the youth level as World Athletics wants sportspersons at that young age to enjoy games and not to be restricted by the high sense of competitiveness.

Coe also highlighted how World Athletics has set in place a robust framework to allow innovations into the sport at the same time ensuring that technologically enhanced equipment like shoes don’t impact performance like swimming had experienced because of wearing bodysuits or suits made of polyurethane or other non-textile materials allowed in the race pool from February 2008 until December 2009.

World Athletics is the first organization to put in place a formal template for testing and approving shoes, to check what kind of innovation is allowed and what is not, he said adding that he does not believe that shoes and other equipment can influence results in athletics like in case of swimming.

“I don’t think most of our coaches will take it lightly if they are told that the athlete has won because of his spikes,” he said. IANS

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