NC Classic 'will be very big in future': World Athletics VP Adille Sumariwalla

Bengaluru, July 5 (IANS) World Athletics vice president Adille Sumariwalla believes the Neeraj Chopra Classic 2025 is just ‘a small step’ in what is yet to come and the event, alongside India’s hold in athletics, will continue to rise in future.

The Neeraj Chopra Classic, sanctioned by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and co-organised by two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra, has attracted elite talent from around the globe. This is India's first international javelin event set to take place at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Saturday.

"It's a great platform. Everyone should come and watch to see some of the best throwers in the world. Neeraj is not only an icon in India but across the world. He has worked hard and done well for himself. He has got all the right awards, wins and he is a role model for everybody.

"This is a small step, this event will become very big in the future, much bigger than it is today. We are going to have the continental tour coming up. We are bidding for World Championships, world junior championships so lots of things will happen in the next few years,” Sumariwalla, former Athletics Federation of India president, told IANS.

Recently, an Indian delegation led by Gujarat Sports Minister Harsh Sanghavi and IOA President P.T. Usha visited the Olympic capital in Lausanne to explore the opportunity and feasibility of India hosting a future edition of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Sumariwalla remained optimistic regarding India’s attempts to bring the Olympics to the subcontinent and also pointed India’s high number of doping cases is actually a good sign in terms of how efficient the system is in catching the culprits.

"To bid for the Olympics, it's not a simple thing. India has 1.5 billion people, if 65% of that population is below the age of 35, see the power of the youth of India. Why would the Olympics go to another country? So, yes, do we need to do things internally? Yes. Do we need better governance? Yes. Do we need a sports bill? Yes. Do we need to resolve internal issues? Yes.

"Do we need to resolve issues of doping? Yes. But we have to remember that if we are so high in doping, it's because we are doing a very good job of testing more people. So, the more you test, the more you will get caught.

“We can become very good by testing fewer people. But that's not what we want to do. We want to catch the cheats. So, it's not a bad thing. Actually, it's a good thing that you are catching all the cheats. So, you have to understand it from the right perspective," he added.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the National Sports Policy (NSP) 2025, an initiative aimed at reshaping the country’s sporting landscape and empowering citizens through sports.

The new policy supersedes the existing National Sports Policy 2001 and lays out a visionary and strategic roadmap to establish India as a global sporting powerhouse and a strong contender for excellence at international sporting events, including the 2036 Olympic Games.

The World Athletics vice president also spoke about the new policy and talked in detail about the five pillars which are outlined in the NSP.

"The new policy is great. The five pillars they have put up for excellence, for sports science, for infrastructure, for social upliftment and for the sports industry. I think it's a very good policy, a lot has changed since the sports policy was first created in 1985 and then modified in 2021,” he concluded.

--IANS

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