From Neeraj Chopra’s dominance to the emergence of Avinash Sable, from the Jyothi Yarrajis to Harmilan Bains! Taking stock of the recent success of Indian athletes and looking at their rising graph, you can’t help but think what is catalysing this.
Talking to Adille Sumariwalla, president of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), who recently became a vice-president of World Athletics, one gets to realise how much strategic and intellectual effort is being put in to take Indian athletics to the next level.
Asked about specific goals and initiatives he plans to pursue during his four-year term on the World Athletics executive board, Sumariwalla recalled his days as an athlete and remarked that he had vowed no one would undergo the hardships he had experienced. “The night I went to the Olympic Games in Moscow (1980), I was sleeping on the steps of the stadium and the next day I was going to run for India. No athlete shall suffer like I did.”
AFI’s grassroots development
Sumariwalla is passionate about grassroots development. Queried about India’s gradual progress, he is quick to point to that. “The AFI runs the largest grassroots programme in the world, with 600 districts. Nearly 6,500 take part in inter-district competitions in the under-14 and under-16 age groups. About 95% of athletes representing India come from these inter-district competitions.”
Sumariwalla is optimistic that Indian athletes will make a global impact. With the kind of work being put in at the grassroots, the outcome is expected to be fruitful. The former sprinter went into details of how the federation supports the athletes. “AFI pays for food, accommodation, transport, for all the athletes taking part in the inter-district competitions. We feed almost 10,000 people everyday including the athletes, coaches, parents and anyone travelling with them,” he elaborated.
Sumariwalla also explained how the AFI has strategically redesigned the junior programmes. “We have redefined our programme. Junior-level athletes only participate in standing long jump instead of the regular long jump. U-16 athletes use a specially crafted plastic javelin that only flies when thrown with the right technique. All this is done to negate early specialisation and over-training at the younger level. We’ve taken away the hammer throw, pole vault, triple jump and a few more events to avoid over-training.”
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Adille Sumariwalla’s Exclusive: Cultivating global victors through AFI’s Grassroots and Strategic Initiatives for Indian Athletics’ unstoppable ascent.
He speaks on becoming the first Indian Vice President of @WorldAthletics, preparations for @Paris2024 for @WeAreTeamIndia and… pic.twitter.com/ZOzXax982g
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Revolution in javelin
About javelin throwers led by Neeraj making a splash, Sumariwalla explained how the AFI recognised the potential of the event. “We identified javelin throw in 2015 or so. Very few believed that it would be successful. Many said that Indians don’t have the built for the sport. But the coaches convinced us that it’s about speed and technique. Three Indians in the top-10 in javelin at the World Championship is unbelievable. I don’t think people have understood the gravity of what it means.”
It’s time for Indian athletes to take up the Paris Olympics challenge. Asked about preparations, Sumariwalla stated that the calendar should be such that athletes peak at the Olympics and not before that. “The first job is to fix the calendar, so that we start training, preparation, pre-competition and then the competition. To make sure that the athletes peak at the right time. All competitions and training camps are in line with that calendar.”
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