Animesh Kujur, Sarvesh Kushare, Mohammed Afsal Lead India’s First Indoor Athletics Championships

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Bhubaneswar, March 24: India is ready to take an important step forward in track and field, as the first-ever National Indoor Athletics Championships 2026 will be held at Kalinga Indoor Stadium in Bhubaneswar on March 24-25.

Since Bhubaneswar will also host the World Athletics Indoor Championships in 2028, this event is an important step in preparing India for bigger global competitions.

Take a look at 5 Indian athletes competing in this competition:

1. Animesh Kujur (60M)

"Mr. Consistent" Animesh Kujur is back and will open his 2026 season here.

Last season was outstanding for him:

• National record: 10.18s (100m)
• National record: 20.32s (200m)
• Part of the 4x100m relay team that set a national record of 38.69s.
• First-ever Indian male sprinter to compete at the World Athletics Championships.

Like last year, Animesh will aim to start his 2026 season with a strong performance.

2. GURINDERVIR SINGH (60M)

Gurindervir Singh will also begin his 2026 season at the National Indoor Championships. The former national record holder in the men's 100m had a great start last year. The Punjab sprinter broke the national record at the Indian Grand Prix 1 with a time of 10.20s, bettering the previous 10.23s record held by Manikanta Hoblidhar. Later, Animesh Kujur improved that record further.

Gurindervir's last competition was at the World University Games in Germany.

3. SARVESH KUSHARE (HIGH JUMP)

Sarvesh Kushare is one of the biggest names in this competition. He made history last year by becoming the first Indian to reach the men's high jump final at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. He finished sixth with a personal best of 2.28m, one of the best performances ever by an Indian high jumper.

This will be his second competition of the season. He already started his season at the Indian Open Jumps in Bengaluru, where he won gold with a jump of 2.16m.

He also finished fourth at the last Asian Games, missing the bronze medal by just 3 cm. His performance here could set the tone for a big year ahead, including the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.

4. MOHAMMED AFSAL (800M & 1500M)

National record holder Mohammed Afsal will open his 2026 season at this competition. Last year was excellent for the Asian Games medalist. He broke the national record in the men's 800m at the Czesław Cybulski Memorial in Poland, clocking 1:44.93 and finishing sixth in a strong field.

With this performance, he became the first Indian to run under 1:45 in the 800m. He improved his previous national record of 1:45.61, which he had set earlier at the UAE Athletics Grand Prix, breaking Jinson Johnson's long-standing record. His last competition was the National Open Athletics Championships.

5. PRAVEEN CHITHRAVEL (LONG JUMP)

India's triple jump national record holder Praveen Chithravel will compete in the long jump in this competition. However, this is not new for him. He has competed in long jump before, including an event in Spain last year.

He started his 2026 season at the Asian Indoor Championships, where he finished fourth in the men's triple jump. After that, he competed at the Indian Open Jumps in Bengaluru and won gold with a best jump of 16.78m.