Upgraded continental tour meet, increased competitions in AFI's 2026 calendar

New Delhi, Nov 25 (PTI) Upgrade of a bronze-level continental event and an increase in the number of domestic competitions, including an inaugural national indoor meet, were the big takeaways as the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) unveiled its calendar for 2026 here on Tuesday.

The AFI said it intends to take the number of domestic competitions from 32 to 40 this year and upgrade the Continental Tour meet, held in Bhubaneswar last year, to silver level. The elevated status would mean higher ranking points for participants which would attract athletes of stronger calibre at the meet.

"Last year, we conducted the bronze-level continental tour meet, this year we are going up and we are going to conduct the silver level," said AFI's Director of Competitions Ravinder Choudhary.

"And one more feature which we are adding to this calendar is the inaugural edition of the Indoor National Championship that we are beginning. It will be the inaugural, it will be the first time in our history that we will be conducting the National Indoor Championship," he added.

"...we are also planning to have two more competitions Indoor...Like a separate Indoor pole vault competition. Last year, there were 32 competitions and we have increased that from 32 to 40." Choudhary said the competitions would be called Indian Athletics Series instead of Grand Prix. He said the idea behind increasing the events is to ensure that Indian athletes get more competitive exposure.

"...more competitions, more exposure, more experience, more perfection is one reason," he said.

National coach P Radhakrishnan Nair said it would be mandatory for athletes to participate in some of the events to be eligible for next year's Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.

"Of course. We have not yet decided which competition will be a selection meet for that...you know both Commonwealth Games and Asian Games are so close to each other. So it is not possible to conduct different trials," he reasoned. PTI AS PM PM AH