India to bid as a host for 2029 World Athletics Championship

India will bid for the World Athletics Championship 2029 after opting against the plans to host the 2027 edition. Following the conclusion of the biennial event this year in Budapest, Hungary, in August, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) pondered to bid for the 2027 World Athletics Championships.

However, the national sports federation decided to drop their initial consideration and instead will target for the following edition in 2029. Former Indian long jumper and current AFI senior vice-president Anju Bobby George, on the sidelines of the AFI annual general body meeting, confirmed that the country will vie for the hosting rights of the 22nd World Athletics Championships.

"Yes, we are interested in bidding for the 2029 World Athletics Championships. India has expressed interest to host the 2036 Olympics and 2030 Youth Olympics. So, it will be very good if we can host the 2029 World Athletics Championships," Anju told news agency PTI.

The time frame for the bidding of the prestigious Athletics event for 2029 is not revealed yet. The World Athletics published the timeline for the 2027 edition, which started earlier this year. The next edition of the World Athletics Championships will take place in 2025 in Tokyo, Japan.

How many medals has India won in World Athletics Championship?

India's sporting pantheon Neeraj Chopra won a historic gold medal in the World Athletics Championships 2023 with a sublime throw of 88.17m. This came after he missed the gold in Oregon in the previous edition and settled for a silver.

Neeraj Chopra being presented with gold medal at World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023

Anju Bobby George won bronze in the women's long jump in the 2003 edition in Paris, which was the Asian country's first medal in the global event. Anju marked a 6.70m jump to finish third behind Russia's Tatyana Kotova (6.74m) and France's Eunice Barber (6.99m).

India have won only three medals in the 19 editions of the World Athletics Championships, however, the country has the potential to add a few more names to the list by the time it is set to host the tournament.