Bhubaneswar, March 23 India will formally begin its journey towards narrower tracks and consistent conditions in indoor athletics by hosting the nation's maiden national championship, starting here on Tuesday. This marks the first preparatory step towards hosting the World Championship at the same venue in two years.
The state-of-the-art facility here was designated as the venue for the World Indoor Athletics Championships, to be held from March 3-5, 2028, last week. This will be the first time the country hosts a global track and field event.
The national championship will be a two-day event at the facility, which was inaugurated in 2024.
Indoor athletics has been a lesser-known aspect of the sport in the country, although some Indians have been competing at the international stage. This is largely due to the lack of top-class indoor facilities in the country.
In indoor events, athletes run on narrower tracks with banked turns. Outdoor 400m tracks are wider with flat turns.
Indoor events are not affected by wind, and the weather conditions are consistent throughout the competition.
Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable, among other familiar faces, will not compete here as their events are not included in the roster.
With the completion of this world-class facility within the Kalinga Stadium complex, India was able to convince World Athletics to allocate the 2028 global showpiece to Bhubaneswar.
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI), which worked in tandem with the Odisha government to secure the rights, is also hoping to host the Asian Indoor Athletics Championship here in 2028.
The Asian Athletics Association is likely to decide on the host venue in May.
New Experience
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This will be a novel experience for many Indian athletes, as well as the organizers and officials of the AFI.
An indoor competition is run on a 200m track, instead of 400m in outdoor events, in a closed and smaller facility. The shortest sprint race – 60m – is one of the most followed events, while 60m hurdles is also included.
Field events such as high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump, and shot put are included. However, throw events like javelin, discus, and hammer are excluded for obvious reasons.
Around 300 athletes will compete in the national championships, with Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra sending large contingents of around 30 athletes each.
National record holders in outdoor events, such as Animesh Kujur, Mohammed Afsal, and Praveen Chitravel, are competing in the indoor competition.
Kujur, who holds national records in both 100m and 200m, will be competing in the 60m sprint, which will be his season opener here. His last competition was the World (Outdoor) Championships in Tokyo in September 2025.
Men's triple jump (outdoor) national record holder Praveen Chitravel is competing in the long jump, while Afsal is taking part in the 800m and 1500m events. Afsal is the 800m outdoor national record holder.
Some of the country's top performers in indoor events, mainly in the NCAA in the USA, such as Lokesh Sathyanathan (men's long jump), Krishna Jayasankar (women's shot put), and Selva Prabhu (men's triple jump), are not competing here.
There will be 11 events each for men and women over the course of two days – 60m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m, 60m hurdles, high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump, and shot put.
The 4x400m relay (both men and women), heptathlon for men, and pentathlon for women are not included. The 4x400m mixed relay, which was introduced at the recent World Indoor Athletics Championships in Torun, Poland, also does not feature on the roster here.
There will also be competition in the Under-20 section in some events.
The Indoor facility at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar has a 200m synthetic oval track, a 100m straight running track (80m plus 20m), and designated areas for long jump, triple jump, pole vault, and shot put, each compliant with World Athletics Category 1 standards.
The facility has a spectator seating capacity of around 1700.
