Sport | Athletics |
---|---|
Jurisdiction | India |
Abbreviation | AFI |
Founded | 1946 |
Affiliation | World Athletics |
Regional affiliation | Asian Athletics Association |
Headquarters | New Delhi, India |
President | Adille Sumariwalla |
Vice president(s) | Anju Bobby George |
Secretary | Ravinder Chaudhry |
Official website | |
indianathletics | |
The Athletics Federation of India is the national governing body for Athletics sport in India, and is responsible for conducting competitions in the country. It was formed in 1943. [1] [2] It is affiliated to World Athletics and Asian Athletics Association.
It was formerly called Amateur Athletic Federation of India. Anju Bobby George an Indian Olympian was appointed as the vice president of AFI.
Athletics Federation of India, then Amateur Athletic Federation of India (AAFI), was formed in 1946 at the initiative of Prof. G.D. Sondhi and Maharaja Yadvindra Singh. G.D. Sondhi was its first President for a short while, resigning on 13 April 1950.
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AFI organises following national level Athletics competitions annually, periodically in the country:
AFI has been under pressure for the last several years due to doping scandals. The entire 4 × 400 m women's relay that won gold in the 2010 Commonwealth Games were tested positive for anabolic steroid.
The governing body's selection process for international teams have received public criticism. PU Chitra, Ajay Kumar Saroj and Sudha Singh were excluded from the 2017 World Championships in Athletics despite being eligible for entry by the International Association of Athletics Federations (the global governing body). Chitra lodged an appeal to the Kerala High Court in July 2017, though she was ultimately excluded as the court's request for inclusion was beyond the selection cut-off date. Commentator KP Mohan believed the right decision had been made to not include Chitra and several other Asian champions, given their low international ranking at that time, though he stated the controversy could have been avoided if the AFI had made its selection criteria clear before the start of the athletics season. [5]
The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about 2.5 m in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon.
Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running, jumping and throwing. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross-country running, and racewalking.
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events. Track and field is categorized under the umbrella sport of athletics, which also includes road running, cross country running and racewalking. In British English the term athletics is synonymous with American track and field and includes all jumping events. Outside of Canada and the United States, athletics is the official term for this sport with 'track' and 'field' events being subgroups of athletics events.
The 1951 Asian Games, officially known as the First Asian Games, was a multi-sport event celebrated in New Delhi, India from 4 to 11 March 1951. The Games received names like First Asiad, 1951 Asiad, and New Dehli 1951. A total of 489 athletes representing 11 Asian National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 57 events from eight sports and discipline. The Games was the successor of the Far Eastern Games and the revival of the Western Asiatic Games. The 1951 Asiad were originally scheduled to be held in 1950, but postponed until 1951 due to delays in preparations. On 13 February 1949, the Asian Games Federation was formally established in Delhi, with Delhi unanimously announced as the first host city of the Asian Games.
Uwe Hohn is a retired German track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He is the only athlete to throw a javelin 100 metres or more, with his world record of 104.80 m. A new javelin design was implemented in 1986 and the records had to be restarted, thus Hohn's mark became an "eternal world record". After his retirement from competition, Hohn became a coach and since 1999 he has worked for SC Potsdam, the successor of ASK Vorwärts Potsdam, where he started his career as a sportsman. He coached Indian track and field athlete Neeraj Chopra, who won the gold in the men's javelin throw at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo.
The Asian Games Federation (AGF) was the governing body of sports in Asia from 1949 to 1982. The federation was disbanded on 16 November 1982 in New Delhi and succeeded by the Olympic Council of Asia. The AGF was responsible for the organisation of the Asian Games from 1951 to 1982. The Federation was established on 13 February 1949, in a meeting held in Patiala House in New Delhi.
India has a history of sports dating back to the Vedic period, with Western sports having been imported during British rule. Cricket is the most popular spectator sport; it generates the highest television viewership, with the Indian Premier League (IPL) being the most-followed league in the country. Football has also gained popularity, with the Indian Super League (ISL) being the highest level of domestic football, and the national team winning multiple gold medals at the Asian and South Asian Games. Additional football accomplishments include India having reached the Groupstage of the 1960 Olympics, qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup, and won the SAFF Championship. Other sports include kabaddi, badminton, tennis, and athletics, with kho-kho becoming the fourth-most viewed sport. India has also had success in field hockey, winning the World Cup and multiple medals in the Olympic Games. Sports such as golf, rugby, boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, motorsport, wrestling, and basketball are featured throughout the country.
Julius Yego is a Kenyan track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. Nicknamed "Mr. YouTube" because he learned how to throw by watching YouTube videos of javelin athletes, Yego is the African record holder for the event with a personal best of 92.72 m.
In India, the Athletics was introduced during the period of the British Raj. The sport is governed by the Athletics Federation of India, which was formed in 1946.
The sports under the umbrella of athletics, particularly track and field, use a variety of statistics. In order to report that information efficiently, numerous abbreviations have grown to be common in the sport. Starting in 1948 by Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, Track & Field News became the leader in creating and defining abbreviations in this field. These abbreviations have also been adopted by, among others: World Athletics, the world governing body; various domestic governing bodies; the Association of Track and Field Statisticians; the Association of Road Racing Statisticians; the Associated Press; and individual media outlets who receive their reports. These abbreviations also appear in Wikipedia.
Palakkeezhil Unnikrishnan Chitra is an Indian middle-distance runner who specialises in the 1500m distance. She won gold medals at the 2016 South Asian Games and 2017 Asian Championships and a bronze at the 2018 Asian Games. She won gold medal at the 2019 Doha Asian Athletics Championships
Annu Rani Dharayan is an Indian javelin thrower. She was the first Indian woman to reach the javelin throw final at the World Championships in 2019. At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, she made history by becoming the first Indian woman javelin thrower to win a medal, a bronze. Rani is the first Indian woman javelin thrower to win a gold at the Asian Games.
Subedar Major Neeraj Chopra is an Indian track and field athlete. Considered as the greatest Indian javelin thrower, he's a double medalist at the Olympics, World Championships, and the Asian Games. He has won the Diamond League once. Chopra won the gold medal at the 2020 Olympics, becoming the first Asian javelin throw athlete to do so. He became the first Asian to win a gold in javelin at the World Championships after his win in 2023. Chopra has won gold medals in every major tournament. He has a podium finish streak in 24 consecutive competitions, dating back to 2020. Since his performance at the 2016 World U20 Championship, he continues to hold the junior javelin throw world record.
Arshad Nadeem is a Pakistani javelin thrower. He is the reigning Olympic and Commonwealth Games champion. He is also the current silver medalist in the World Athletics Championship. He set an Olympic and Asian record with a throw of 92.97 metres (305.0 ft) at the 2024 Summer Olympics. His throw was also the sixth longest throw in the history of javelin throw, when considering only the best throw from each athlete.
Junior Warrant Officer Shivpal Singh is an Indian javelin thrower and a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) in Indian Air Force.
The Indian National Open Athletics Championships is an annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Athletics Federation of India, which serves as the national championship for the sport in India. First held in 1961, it is one of four major national events in track and field, alongside the annual Indian Inter State Senior Athletics Championships and Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships, as well as the biennial National Games of India.
The 2021 Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships was the 24th edition of the national championship in outdoor track and field for India. It was held on 15–19 March at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports in Patiala.
India has participated in the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. Their first ever medal was a Bronze medal won by Anju Bobby George in 2003 in Paris; in the Women's long jump discipline.
Abha Khatua is an Indian professional shot putter. She represented her country in 2023 Asian Athletics Championships where she won silver. Khatua holds the Indian national record of 18.41 metres. She qualified for 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris but was dropped in the last minute and was recalled from the training camp in Europe.