Tapping into Neeraj Chopra frenzy, India to host javelin’s 10 best throwers at Invitational meet later this year | Sport-others News

Aiming to bag a series of big-ticket Track and Field events over the next few years, even as the country prepares to bid for the 2036 Olympics, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) is to host an invitational javelin competition for the top 10 athletes in the world headlined Neeraj Chopra, the reigning Olympic silver medall and world champion. On the sidelines of the Annual General Body Meeting of the AFI, its outgoing president Adille Sumariwalla said it makes sense to conduct the invitational competition comprising the world’s best athletes because of the popularity of javelin in the country post Chopra’s Tokyo Olympics gold.
“The top-10 javelin throwers in the world. JSW is part of organizing (along with) a foreign firm and AFI. Together we are creating this new competition. Since there is so much interest in javelin throw. August 7 has been called the national javelin day, the day Neeraj won his gold medal. So this is going to be an invitation competition where the best javelin throwers in the world will come and throw. (Will be) sometime later in the year,” Sumariwalla said.
Chopra will be a ‘partner/shareholder’ of the event, Sumariwalla added. “Things have to be finalised. His role is more about bringing the athletes, all the throwers,” Sumariwalla told The Indian Express.
AFI bidding for marquee events is also in sync with India’s ambitions to become hosts of the Olympics Games. “You have to showcase some big events. We have always wanted to bid but as of now the government seems to be very positive in supporting the bids so it is a good opportunity for everybody,” he added.
Chopra has expressed hope that India would host a major athletics event as it would give him an opportunity to compete in front of home fans.
“I have a strong desire to compete in India. I really want India to host a big international event and the federation is also trying. Everyone is keen on seeing India host a big-ticket event. I hope it happens in the future and I am really looking forward to competing in India against international athletes in front of fans,” Chopra had said during an Indian Express Idea Exchange.
The invitational javelin competition is not the only major track and field event to be held in the country this year. A bronze-level Continental Tour event in Bhubaneshwar on August 10 is on the AFI’s calendar and it has also submitted a letter of intent to host the Under-20 World Championships in 2028.
Sumariwalla spoke about AFI’s ambitions to bring major events to India soon.
“Bids are open at the moment for the world junior championships, for the world relays and the world championships (senior) for 2029. And India is going to make a bid for all of them. Basically, we have put in our expression of interest. The process has started and it will go through various steps before the World Athletics council, of which I am a part of, will allot these championships,” Sumariwalla said.
A track record of successfully hosting major events improves chances of hosting an Olympic Games, World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe had recently said during a media interaction.
“Evaluation teams and the sport need the confidence that events that are going to be delivered at an Olympic level have been delivered at a world championships or global-competition level. That track record is important for any city that is wanting to present their credentials for delivering a very complicated and complex sporting event. There is nothing more complex than the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Coe had said.
Coe, a two-time former Olympic gold medal in the 1,500 metres, was the chair of the London Organising Committee for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. His words also carry weight because he has thrown his hat in the ring to be the next International Olympic Council chief.
‘Out of competition testing more important’
AFI president Sumariwalla, who completed his three terms, said that doping in the country remained a ‘very, very serious problem’.
India topped the l of countries with the highest percentage of doping offenders, according to the 2022 testing figures released the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) last year. Sumariwalla is also vice-president of World Athletics.“Areas I would definitely like to see improvement are doping. It is a very, very serious problem, we are fighting it tooth and nail. There is zero tolerance, even some of the biggest names have undergone (extensive testing). The AFI can do two things, educate and police. We are doing both. Now, it has to be done at the state and drict level where the problem is. We have been doing education for all our athletes at all levels, at every national championships, at inter-drict championship,” Sumariwalla said.
The AFI is doing intelligence gathering about potential dope cheats and passing it on to anti-doping watchdogs too.
“Policing is done in two ways, one is intelligence which we give to NADA and WADA and AIU. Secondly we are requesting NADA from time to time to add more and more names (to the testing pool) as part of our intelligence process. Out-of-competition is the most important thing, testing in competition is less important. And we are working closely with NADA, AIU and others to increase out-of-competition testing. This is what AFI is doing and we will continue to invest far more money into that.”

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