AFI chases multiple peaks for athletes in packed year

The upcoming season will be a busy one for track and field athletes, with the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games being two important competitions where they will be expected to put up a strong showing.

- Avishek Roy [e-mail]

It will also serve as a buildup year toward the LA 2028 Olympics, and therefore an opportunity for new faces to emerge and budding juniors to make the transition in time for Olympic qualification to begin.

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI), therefore, has tweaked its domestic competition calendar with an aim to push athletes toward “multiple peaks” in a year and not focus on just one good performance or on peaking early in the season.

AFI has increased the number of competitions to 40 from 32, has decided to lower qualification standards and give exposure to more talents in elite domestic meets, and will begin a new series called the Indian Athletics Series, having 16 meets and a Finals to be held at the JLN Stadium in New Delhi, that makes a return in domestic fixture after three years.

The World Athletics Continental Tour meet in Bhubaneswar has been upgraded to silver level, bringing more world ranking points. AFI will also host its first National Indoor Championships.

AFI said one of the things they have noticed is athletes peaking early and being unable to sustain their performance throughout the season.