India Set for Major Athletics Hosting Boom: Four Continental and Global Championships Coming Between 2027 and 2029

Indian athletics is entering an important phase, not just in terms of performances on the track and field but also in its growing role as a host of major international competitions. 

Between 2027 and 2029, India is set to stage four significant continental and global athletics championships, creating an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen its position on the international athletics calendar.

The upcoming events include the 2027 Asian Relay Championships in Chandigarh, the 2028 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships and World Athletics Indoor Championships in Bhubaneswar, and the 2029 Asian Athletics Championships in Chennai.

The hosting calendar represents a major step forward for the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and the country's sporting infrastructure. It will bring leading athletes from across Asia and the world to Indian venues while providing domestic athletes, coaches, officials and organisers with greater exposure to international competition.

More importantly, the events could help India develop the organisational experience required to host even bigger sporting competitions in the future.

2027 Asian Relay Championships: Chandigarh

India's international hosting calendar will begin with the 3rd Asian Relay Championships, scheduled for August 12 and 13, 2027, at the Sector 7 Sports Complex in Chandigarh.

The competition will bring together relay teams from across Asia, with six events on the programme:

• Men's 4x100m and 4x400m relays

• Women's 4x100m and 4x400m relays

• Mixed 4x100m and 4x400m relays

The championships will provide Asian nations with an opportunity to assess their relay combinations, improve baton exchanges and compete for valuable international exposure ahead of major global competitions.

For India, hosting the event will be particularly significant as the country continues to strengthen its sprint and relay programmes. Competing at home could provide Indian relay squads with an opportunity to perform in familiar conditions while testing themselves against the continent's leading teams.

The event will also mark the return of a major international athletics competition to Chandigarh after a long gap. The Sector 7 Sports Complex has developed into an important regional athletics venue, making it an opportunity to demonstrate its readiness for international competition.

The spotlight will shift to Odisha in early 2028, when Bhubaneswar hosts the 11th Asian Indoor Athletics Championships. Scheduled for January or February, the competition will mark the first time the continental indoor championships are held in South Asia.

The event will take place at the Kalinga Indoor Stadium, which houses India's first World Athletics Category 1-certified indoor short-track facility. The venue features a 200-metre banked oval, an eight-lane sprinting straight and dedicated facilities for jumping and throwing events. Its infrastructure is designed to accommodate the technical requirements of international indoor athletics.

For Indian athletes, the championships will provide valuable exposure to indoor competition, an area in which domestic opportunities have historically been limited. Indoor athletics demands different tactical and technical skills compared with outdoor competition. The shorter track, banked bends and compact racing environment require athletes to adapt their positioning, acceleration and race strategies.

Hosting the Asian championships will therefore be important not only for organisational experience but also for developing India's capabilities in short-track athletics.

2028 World Athletics Indoor Championships: India's biggest global athletics hosting opportunity

Bhubaneswar's importance will increase further in March 2028 when it hosts the 21st World Athletics Indoor Championships from March 3 to 5. This will be the first time India hosts a senior global track and field championship organised by World Athletics, making it a landmark moment for Indian athletics.

The competition is expected to bring together more than 1,000 athletes and team personnel from over 130 national federations. Across three days, the world's leading athletes will compete for medals in 26 events. The championships will place India at the centre of the international indoor athletics calendar and provide an opportunity to showcase the country's ability to organise a major global sporting event.

For Odisha, it will be another major milestone in its development as a sporting destination. The Kalinga sports infrastructure has already hosted several national and international competitions, and the World Indoor Championships will represent its biggest athletics test.

The event could also inspire greater participation in athletics across India, particularly in disciplines such as the 60m sprint, hurdles, indoor middle-distance events and field competitions.

India's hosting commitments will continue in 2029, when Chennai is scheduled to stage the 28th Asian Athletics Championships at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. The championships are expected to take place in August and will bring together the continent's leading track and field athletes across a full outdoor programme.

Chennai will become the fourth Indian city to host the Asian Athletics Championships. New Delhi staged the event in 1989, Pune hosted it in 2013 and Bhubaneswar welcomed the continental championship in 2017. The 2029 edition will require significant preparation, including the resurfacing of the main competition track and the adjacent Nehru 'B' Ground warm-up facility to meet international standards.

The event will offer Indian athletes an opportunity to compete against Asia's strongest performers on home soil. It will also provide a major platform for India's established stars and emerging athletes to challenge for continental medals.

For Tamil Nadu, hosting the championships will strengthen Chennai's position as an important destination for international sport.

The significance of these four championships extends beyond the competitions themselves. Hosting international events requires expertise in technical officiating, electronic timing, athlete services, anti-doping operations, broadcasting, accommodation and transportation.

By distributing these events across Chandigarh, Bhubaneswar and Chennai, India will gain experience in organising different formats of athletics competition. The benefits could extend directly to Indian athletes. Domestic hosting reduces international travel requirements and gives athletes opportunities to compete in familiar surroundings. It can also improve access to high-level competition and create greater visibility for athletics within the country.

India has also submitted a bid to host the 2028 World Athletics U20 Championships in Ahmedabad. However, that proposal remains separate from the four championships in the confirmed hosting calendar.

The broader strategy is also linked to India's ambitions to host major multi-sport events, including the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad and its longer-term aspiration to host the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The 2027–2029 period could become one of the most important phases in India's development as an international athletics destination. Chandigarh will host Asia's relay specialists in 2027. Bhubaneswar will welcome the continent's best indoor athletes before bringing the world's elite to India in 2028. Chennai will then host Asia's leading outdoor track and field competitors in 2029.

For the AFI and the respective state administrations, the challenge will be to deliver these championships to international standards. For Indian athletes, the opportunity will be to use home competitions to gain experience, improve performances and compete for medals.

India's ambitions in athletics are no longer limited to producing international champions. The country is increasingly positioning itself to host the competitions where those champions are made.

The next three years will provide a significant test of that ambition. 

Credit to Rahul Bhutani