After Neeraj Chopra Classic's Success, India to Bid for 2029 and 2031 World Athletics Championships

The Neeraj Chopra Classic, a javelin event organised by the ace Indian javelin thrower, was a rousing success as nearly 15,000 people turned up in the city of Bengaluru to watch some of the top athletes in the world compete against one another, a rare first for an athletics event in the country. 

The fact that Neeraj himself won the NC Classic no doubt also helped establish the event in the mind of fans, but the Athletics Federation of India is set to try to do their best to capitalise on the momentum and goodwill that has been garnered by the event. 

The AFI intends to put in a bid for both the 2029 and 2031 edition of the World Athletics Championships, with the hope of landing at least one of the events. 

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India's Next Athletics Goal

In fact, it has also been confirmed that India will look to bid in a ‘strategic’ manner for the events. 

"We are going to do strategic bidding for 2029 and 2031 (Championships). Both editions will be awarded together and whichever edition we get is fine. There is still some time (for the process to start). We are going to submit the bids," Adile Sumariwalla, a vice-president of the World Athletics and former president of Athletics Federation of India (AFI), told PTI. 

Should India land either of the two events, it will serve as a huge boost for track and field sports in the country. 

It may also aid India's eventual goal of wanting to host an Olympic Games, with talk of a bid for the 2036 edition of the event continuing to pick up steam. 

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When Must Bids be Submitted?

The deadline for the initial submissions of any applications for the World Championships is April 1, 2026.

After that, any interested countries will have to put in their final bid applications by August 5, 2026. 

This is just before the World Athletics Council will reveal the host cities of the 2029 and 2031 editions of the World Championships.

It is also worth noting that the 2025 world championships will be held in Tokyo and the 2027 edition will take place in Beijing.

In this scenario, India has a better chance to get the 2031 edition, given they would be keen to avoid 3 Asian nations on the trot hosting the event.