Inaugural edition of National Indoor Athletics C'ships in Bhubaneswar in January

New Delhi, Nov 11 (PTI) The inaugural edition of the National Indoor Athletics Championships will be held in Bhubaneswar in January, the national federation said on Tuesday.

The state-of-the-art facility at Kalinga Stadium Complex in the Odisha capital will host the event, though the exact date is yet to be decided.

"The National Indoor Championships was on cards and we have incorporated it in the 2026 domestic calendar," Athletics Federation of India (AFI) President Bahadur Singh Sagoo said.

The addition of the National Indoor Championships for the first time in the athletics calendar is in line with the AFI bidding for the 2028 Asian Indoor Championships.

According to Sagoo, apart from National Indoor Championships, the AFI also plans to conduct separate indoor competition in pole vault (men and women) and heptathlon.

"The 2026 domestic calendar will be exciting," he added.

Events for the indoor heptathlon for men, to be held over two days, will be 60m, long jump, shot put, high jump, 60m hurdles, pole vault and 1,000m.

The first four events will be held on first day while the remaining three events on day two of the gruelling competition.

"The packed 2026 domestic calendar will feature close to 40 competitions. The calendar will be finalised shortly," Sagoo said.

"The main focus is to strengthen the domestic ecosystem,” he added.

The AFI had introduced regional competitions in the 2025 calendar year and Sagoo said the response has been good.

"Regional events in the South and North Zone attracted a good number of athletes this year. Hence there is a plan to further increase the number to provide opportunities to young athletes,” the AFI president said.

He said the 2026 domestic calendar will be structured keeping in mind the two major multi-discipline competitions -- Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.

The AFI shortlisted more than 15 venues across the country to conduct the regional level events in 2025, including Anju Bobby Sports Foundation in Bengaluru.

"Regional competitions in the neighbourhood gave more opportunities to promising athletes to showcase their potential. Having quality competition in the backyard is not taxing on the competitors as they have to travel less to compete," Sagoo said. PTI PDS PDS AT AT