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India to host 2028 world indoor athletics champs - Coe

By AFP
March 20, 2026
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe addresses a news conference on the state of Kenyas athletics and anti-doping plan during his visit to Nairobi, Kenya January 5, 2023. — Reuters
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe addresses a news conference on the state of Kenya's athletics and anti-doping plan during his visit to Nairobi, Kenya January 5, 2023. — Reuters

Torun: The eastern Indian state of Odisha will host the world indoor championships in 2028, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe announced Thursday.

“The World Athletics Council this morning awarded the next two editions of the event, the world indoor championships, to Odisha in India in 2028 and Astana, Kazakhstan, in 2030,” Coe said ahead of the world indoors in Torun, Poland.

“The future of the world indoor athletics championships is looking bright and assured.” The selection of Odisha, formerly known as Orissa, is the first time the world’s most populous nation has hosted a major World Athletics event.

The city of Bhubaneswar in Odisha is home to the Kalinga Stadium Complex which boasts an indoor stadium. Amdavad, the city also known as Ahmedabad -- in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat -- has been confirmed as host city for the 2030 Commonwealth Games, which will feature a full track and field programme.

That is widely viewed as a stepping stone to bidding to host the 2036 Olympics, and erasing memories of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi -- an event marked by construction delays, substandard infrastructure and accusations of corruption.