Latest news with #Sumariwalla
Time of India
4 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
AFI plans robust monitoring system to prepare Indian athletes for 2026 international events
Nagpur: The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) established a comprehensive monitoring system to enhance the performance of the Indian track and field team for the 2026 Commonwealth and Asian Games. The 2026 Commonwealth Games are scheduled to take place from July 23 to August 2 in Glasgow, while the Asian Games will be held from September 19 to October 4 in Japan. Eleven months following the decentralisation of national coaching camps after the 2024 Paris Olympic Games held in France from July 26 to August 11, the results were promising at the Gumi Asian Athletics Championships in South Korea, held from May 27 to 31, and in domestic competitions, according to AFI spokesperson Adille Sumariwalla. During a one-day meeting in New Delhi on Friday with all stakeholders, including govt and private entities, Sumariwalla addressed the successful decentralisation training model. He noted initial concerns regarding doping and declining performance as top athletes trained at various centres across the country post-decentralisation. "But both issues were successfully tackled due to a good monitoring system," Sumariwalla, vice president of World Athletics, said. He added, "The national team finished second with 24 medals, eight of them gold, behind China in the medal tally at the continental meet. Several national records were also improved in Gumi, which augurs well for the future." To achieve significant impact in continental and global track and field events, Sumariwalla urged all stakeholders to collaborate. "There is a large pool of over 1,000 athletes, including elite training across various centres. All stakeholders, including departments and private entities, should work in tandem for the holistic development of track and field in the country," he emphasized. Sumariwalla also called on stakeholders to adhere strictly to AFI guidelines on the annual competition calendar to provide more opportunities for promising athletes. "Domestic competition has become more competitive. AFI has also introduced regional competitions. Private institutions and govt departments should encourage athletes to compete on home ground rather than send them abroad to participate in low-key events," he added. Addressing the issue of doping, Sumariwalla urged all stakeholders to take strict action against offenders. "AFI has a no needle policy and zero tolerance towards doping. Accountability of officials and coaches at the district and state levels whose athletes test positive for performance-enhancing drugs should be enforced. Strict punishment will act as a deterrent."
NDTV
4 days ago
- Sport
- NDTV
Athletics Federation Of India Conceptualising Robust Monitoring System To Enhance Performance
With the Asian and Commonwealth Games lined up next year, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) is planning to implement a "robust monitoring system" to enhance the performance of its athletes and increase the number of medals. Indian track and field athletes have traditionally done well at the Asian Games and the AFI wants to take that success a few notches higher at the 2026 continental showpiece in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan and also improve the tally in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. AFI has been encouraged by the fact that nearly 11 months after the decentralisation of the national coaching camps post the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, the overall results showed marked improvement at the Asian Championships in South Korea last month and the domestic competitions. AFI spokesperson Adille Sumariwalla said there were fears that the decentralised training model could be counterproductive, but, on the contrary, there have been a lot of positives. "There was apprehension of doping and not-so-encouraging performance as top athletes were training across the country at different centres after decentralisation. But both the issues were successfully tackled due to a good monitoring system," said Sumariwalla, World Athletics vice-president, during a meeting with government and private entities on the successful decentralisation training model, on Friday. "The national team finished second with 24 medals, eight of them gold behind China in the medal tally in the continental meet. Several national records were also improved in Gumi (Asian Championships), which augurs well for the future," he added. He urged the stakeholders to work together for the common good of athletics. "There is a big pool of over 1,000 athletes, including elite training across various centres. All the stakeholders, including departments and private entities, should work in tandem for holistic development of track and field in the country." He asked the stakeholders to strictly follow AFI guidelines on annual competition calendar to give more opportunities to promising athletes. "Domestic competition has become more competitive. AFI has also introduced regional competitions. Private institutions and government departments should encourage athletes to compete on home ground rather than send athletes abroad to compete in low key events," he added. On the doping menace, Sumariwalla urged the stakeholders to stay vigilant. "AFI has no needle policy and zero tolerance to doping. But accountability of the officials/coaches at the district/state level whose athletes test positive for performance enhancing drugs should be fixed. Strict punishment will act as a deterrent," he added. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
The Hindu
14-06-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
AFI includes men's and women's 4x100m relay events as 2026 Asian Games medal prospects
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has included the men's and women's 4x100m relays as priority events for the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, buoyed by the recent strong performances in domestic and international competitions. Top AFI officials are expecting medals from the two events at the Asian Games to be held in Aichi-Nagoya from September 19 to October 4, 2026. 'The AFI has included men's and women's 4x100m relay teams as a priority event for the 2026 Asian Games,' AFI spokesperson Adille Sumariwalla said. 'A series of outstanding performances by relay teams augurs well for the future,' said Sumariwalla, vice-president of the World Athletics and former AFI president. In April this year, the 4x100m relay team of Gurindervir Singh, Animesh Kujur, Manikanta Hoblidhar and Amlan Borgohain clocked 38.69 seconds to better the more than a decade-old national record of 38.89 seconds clocked at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games. Going by the timings of the top three finishers in the 2022 Games in Hangzhou, the country has a chance to finish on the podium in Japan in 2026. China had won gold with a timing of 38.29 seconds while Japan (38.44 seconds) and South Korea (38.74 seconds) took the silver and bronze respectively. In the women's 4x100m relay, the team of Abhinaya Rajarajan, Srabani Nanda, Sneha SS and Nithya Gandhe clocked 43.86 seconds to win silver in the recent Asian Championships in Gumi, South Korea. This performance by the Indians is much better than the 2022 Asian Games silver winning time of 44.32 seconds clocked by Thailand and 45.01 seconds clocked by bronze winner Malaysia. ALSO READ | Mondo Duplantis' record at Diamond League: A staggering winning streak The women's 4x100m relay gold in the 2022 Asian Games was won by China with a time of 43.39 seconds. India did not send any 4x100m relay teams to the 2018 and 2022 Asian Games. The last time the Indian women's 4x100m featured in the Asian Games was in the 2014 edition at Incheon, where the quartet of Sarbani Nanda, Asha Roy, Sharadha Narayana and H M Jyothi had finished sixth in the final with a time of 44.91 seconds. The last time the Indian men's 4x100m team competed in the Asian Games was in the 2010 edition in Guangzhou, where the quartet of Rahamatulla Molla, Sathya Suresh, Shameer Mon and Najeeb Qureshi had finished fourth in the final with a time of 39.10 seconds. Sumariwalla said Reliance Academy in Mumbai will be the main training centre for the men's 4x100m relay team, while the top female sprinters will be based at the National Centre of Excellence in Thiruvananthapuram to prepare for the upcoming international events.
News18
25-05-2025
- Sport
- News18
Adille Sumariwalla Conferred With Asian Athletics Leadership Gold Pin
Last Updated: Sumariwalla, the former AFI president, was conferred with the award by Asian Athletics Association President General Dahlan Al Hamad at the AAA Congress on Sunday. Vice President of World Athletics and Athletics Federation Of Indian spokesperson Adille Sumariwalla was honoured with the Asian Athletics Leadership Gold Pin at the Asian Athletics Association Congress on Sunday in recognition of his contributions to the growth and leadership of athletics in the continent. Sumariwalla, the former AFI president, was conferred with the award by AAA President General Dahlan Al Hamad at the Congress ahead of the Asian Athletics Championships slated to be held in the South Korean city of Gumi. Sumariwalla, who was elected as one of the four VPs of World Athletics in August 2023, became the first Indian to hold such a position in the global governing body. Sumariwalla took to social media platform X, formerly Twitter, to share an image from the ceremony with a caption that read, 'I, Adille J Sumariwalla (India), Vice President of World Athletics was awarded the Asian Athletics Leadership Gold Pin by General Dahlan Al Hamad, President Asian Athletics at Gumi Korea at the Asian Congress on May 25th 2025" I, Adille J Sumariwalla (India), Vice President of World Athletics was awarded the Asian Athletics Leadership Gold Pin by General Dahlan Al Hamad, President Asian Athletics at Gumi Korea at the Asian Congress on May 25th 2025 — Dr. Adille. J. Sumariwalla. OLY (@Adille1) May 25, 2025 The Asian Athletics Championships will commence on the 27th of May. The Athletics Federation of India has selected a 59-member team for the event in Gumi, featuring most of the prominent athletes across various disciplines. Out of the 59 athletes, 22 faced issues with their visa permits for different reasons. However, the travel permits were resolved on Thursday, and the athletes are set to arrive at the venue a few days in advance. India secured a total of 27 medals, including 6 gold, 12 silver, and 9 bronze, to finish third in the 2023 edition of the biennial event, behind leaders Japan and second-placed China. The athletes representing India in Gumi are aiming for an even better performance this time. First Published: May 25, 2025, 19:24 IST
New Indian Express
25-04-2025
- Sport
- New Indian Express
With an eye on Worlds, AFI names Asian Athletics Championships
CHENNAI: The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) on Friday has named a 59-member team for the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea, a day after the National Federation Senior Athletics Competition got over in Kochi. In the absence of the Olympic and world championships medallist Neeraj Chopra, Commonwealth Games medallist Avinash Sable, long distance runners Gulveer Singh and Parul Chaudhary, quartermilers Vithya Ramraj and Rupal Chaudhary, hurdler Jyothi Yarraji, triple jump national record holder Praveen Chithravel and Abdulla Aboobacker will lead India's challenge. Focus will also be on the 4x400m teams, especially the women's that had been unsteady for a while after injuries and a slew of doping cases. At the last edition of the Asian athletics meet, India had finished with 27 medals that included six gold. AFI selection committee chairperson Adille Sumariwalla said that the focus is on the World Athletics Championships. He said that the Asian athletics will be a stepping stone towards the mega event of the year. 'This is a stepping stone only,' he told this daily. 'Now it is time for us to focus on the world championships. An athlete cannot peak multiple times like at the Asian Championships and again later at the worlds. It is an ongoing process. We had put up the qualifying standards (Asian meet) well in advance (December 31, last year). We are strictly following those qualifying standards.' The AFI would take some solace in some good performances in the lead up to the Asian meet. There were quite a few meet and national records during the four-day competition that concluded on Thursday. However, Sumariwalla has a different take on this. 'There will always be good and not so good performances. We should learn from whatever has happened on the ground. If it is good we should analyse why it is good or whether it is (peaking) too early or too late. If it is bad we should find out why it is not good and what is required to be good to perform well at the world championships.' The former AFI president and current spokesperson also said that the relay teams, especially the 4x400m women's, will be decided closer to the World Championships. The AFI president Bahadur Singh Sagoo said that the AFI was not sending a 4x400m women's team for the World Athletics Relays. The AFI has named a six-member women's 4x400 relay team for the Asian meet but according to the selection committee chief, the six names are not automatic choices for the world championships. Sumariwalla said that the World Athletics meet is still about five months away and they would finalise the names days before the event. 'We have selected athletes for the camp (in Thiruvananthapuram) based on their performances and we keep adding and deleting names based on their performances,' he said. 'We keep inviting people and it's their prerogative if they want to join or not. But we are clear that they have to be part of the camp to run in relays. It is a team event and if they don't want to train together then we don't want them. We are not the USA that has the sprint power. But still they lose 4x100m relays because of lack of coordination. So we have to train together. There is a bonding. Important thing is that the team should be staying together.' This is also to avoid issues like we had with Nirmala Sheoran, Sumariwalla said. 'If she had run in the relay we could have lost medals at the Asian Games in Jakarta,' he said. Nirmala was banned for four year after the Athletics Integrity Unit tested her in 2018 and nullified all the results between 2016 and 2018. India lost a medal won at the 2017 Asian athletics meet. She lost her Asian titles and India had lost a relay medal as well. 'The reason we have told them to participate in two events is to ensure that there are no issues later on. There have been instances when athletes used to get cleaned up before the final trials. They would be hiding and not run the whole year and then come and compete in the final trials and by the time they reach the event timings change. We have seen this time and again. We are trying our best to avoid those things." He said even though he would not like to predict he expected the athletes to perform better than last time. 'Each one of them should perform their best,' he said. India's squad: Men: Animesh Kujur (200m), Anu Kumar and Krishan Kumar (800m), Yoonus Shah (1500m), Avinash Sable (3000m steeplechase), Gulveer Singh and Abhishek Pal (5000m), Gulveer Singh and Sawan Barwal (10,000m), Praveen Chithravel and Abdulla Aboobacker (triple jump), Sarvesh Kushare (high jump), Sachin Yadav and Yasvir Singh (javelin throw), Samardeep Singh (shot put), Tejaswin Shankar (decathlon), Servin Sebastian and Amit (20km race walk). 4x100m relay: Pranav Pramod Gurav, Animesh Kujur, Manikanta Hoblidar, Amlan Borgohain, Tamilarasu S, Ragul Kumar G, Gurvindervir Singh. 4x400m relay: Vishal TK, Jay Kumar, Manu TS, Rince Joseph, Tushar Manna, Santhosh Kumar, Dharamveer Choudhary, Mohit Kumar. Women: Nithya Gandhe (200m), Rupal Chaudhary and Vithya Ramraj (400m), Twinkle Chaudhary and Pooja (800m), Lili Das and Pooja (1500m), Parul Chaudhary and Ankita (3000m steeplechase), Sanjivani Jadav and Parul Chaudhary (5000m), Sanjivani Jadhav and Seema (10,000m), Jyothi Yarraji (100m hurdles), R Vithya Ramraj and Anu R (400m), Shaili Singh and Ancy Sojan (long jump), Pooja (high jump), Seema (discus throw), Annu Rani (javelin throw), Agsara Nandini (heptathlon). 4x100m relay: Nithya Gandhe, Abinaya Rajarajan, Sneha SS, Srabani Nanda, Daneshwari AT, V Sudheeksha. 4x400m relay: Rupal Chaudhary, Sneha K, Subha Venkatesan, Jisna Mathew, Kunja Rajitha, Sarndramol Sabu.
