IMAGE: The Athletics Federation of India has recommended Bhubaneswar as the host city for the World Indoor Championships in 2028. Photograph: ANI Photo
Key Points
- The AFI is keen to host the 2028 World Indoor Championships in Bhubaneswar.
- A World Athletics team visited the indoor facility at the Kalinga Stadium Complex in Bhubaneswar.
- New Zealand had also expressed interest to host the 2028 World Indoor Championships.
India is pitching in for two big-ticket global athletics events in 2028, with the national federation bidding to host the World Indoor Championships in Bhubaneswar, besides the World U20 Championships in Ahmedabad.
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) had already made the bid to host the 2028 World U20 Championships in Ahmedabad when World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe visited the country towards the end of 2024.
In the latest development, the AFI has also bid for the World Indoor Championships in 2028 at Bhubaneswar.
A two-member team from World Athletics visited the state-of-the-art indoor facility at the Kalinga Stadium Complex in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.
The World Athletics Vice-President and former AFI chief Adille Sumariwalla and Odisha government officials were present during the inspection visit.
The World Athletics will announce the hosts of the 2028 and 2030 editions of Junior World Championships in March.
The host city of the World Indoor Championships is also likely to be announced in the same month.
Meanwhile, New Zealand had also expressed interest to host the 2028 World Indoor Championships.
“A World Athletics team was there in Bhubaneswar earlier this week in relation to the World Indoor Championships bid. They have also visited Ahmedabad to take stock of the facilities regarding India’s bid for the 2028 World U20 Championships,” Sumariwalla said.
“It will be a tough bidding competition as other strong countries are also in the fray. But we are hopeful of getting both the global events (World Indoor and World U20),” he added.
Incidentally, the AFI has also made a bid for the 2028 Asian Indoor Championships in Bhubaneswar. The indoor facility is set to host India’s maiden National Indoor Championships in March.
Ahmedabad, which will host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, is also bidding to host the 2031 World (Senior) Athletics Championships as well as the 2036 Olympics.
