India has submitted bids to host the 2026 Asian Relays and the 2028 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships. This is in line with India's growing interests in hosting multi-national events. India is also set to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, with Ahmedabad recommended as the proposed city. The nation also hosted the World Para Athletics Championships 2026.
If India were able to host the Asian Relays and the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships, it would mark the first time that the nation would host these continental events. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has proposed Bhubaneswar as the host city for the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships, while the venue for the Asian Relays is yet to be confirmed.
"We have submitted the bid for the 2028 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships with Bhubaneswar as the host city. There is no other venue in India which can host the event other than the indoor facility at the Kalinga Stadium complex in Bhubaneswar," a top AFI official said as quoted by the news agency PTI. "For the 2026 Asian Relays, we have not yet decided on the venue."
What does the Kalinga Stadium complex in Bhubaneswar boasts?
The Kalinga Stadium complex in Bhubaneswar has a 200m running track and a 100m practice track with specific areas for long jump, triple jump, pole vault, and shot put, while there are also warm-up areas and a gym for the athletes.
The complex was inaugurated in 2024 and has an oval track below a spectator gallery, which has a capacity of 2000 people. It also has 60 twin-sharing rooms and a dining hall.
Asian Relays to be held for second time, Indoor Asiad dates back to 2004
The Asian Relays will be taking place only for the second time after the first edition took place in 2024 in Bangkok. India won one gold and one silver each in the men's and women's 4x400m events. The event is a biennial event and will take place in 2026.
Meanwhile, the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships date back to 2004, when they were first held in Tehran. The Iranian city has hosted the event four times, including the one in 2024, when India won three gold medals and one silver. In the previous edition of the event, Tajinderpal Singh Toor (men's shot put), Jyothi Yarraji (women's 60m hurdles) and Harmilan Bains (women's 1500m) won a gold medal each, while Ankita Dhyani (women's 3000m) clinched a silver.
India has also formally expressed its interest in hosting the 2028 World U20 Championships and one of the two editions of the senior World Athletics Championships in 2029 or 2031.
