Indian athletics calendar 2025: World Championships, Continental Tour headlines season - full schedule

The domestic Indian athletics calendar for 2025 starts with the 59th National Cross-Country Championships in Uttar Pradesh on January 12 and will conclude with the World 25k on December 21.

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) will host the first major domestic track and field competition in April, with the Indian Open meets.

The AFI 2025 calendar will also see the inaugural edition of the Indian Open World Athletics Bronze Level Continental Tour scheduled on August 10 in Bhubaneswar.

“The Continental Tour will be a good opportunity for the Indian team to showcase its potential on home ground before the world championships in September,” AFI president Adille Sumariwalla said.

Indian athletics calendar 2025

The World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, slated for September 13 to 21, will be the biggest track and field competition of the 2025 athletics season for Indian athletes.

Neeraj Chopra will be entering the World Athletics Championships as the defending champion in the men’s javelin throw event.

The World Athletics Relays on May 10-11 in the People’s Republic of China and the Asian Championships from May 27 in the Republic of Korea are other two important international events.

Indian race walkers, however, will not compete in the Asian Race Walking Championships in Nomi, Japan in March as the main focus will be World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

“The core group of Indian race walkers clock a good time in March but aren’t able to repeat the performance later in the season,” Sumariwalla explained. “Since the main focus in 2025 is the global competition in September, we have decided not to send the elite team to Japan in March,” he added.

The national race walking competition would be organised in April. The Senior National Federation Cup is also scheduled for April and will act as a qualification event for the bi-annual Asian Athletic Championships, which will be held from May 27 to 31 in South Korea.

The national team will also compete in international events to prepare for the World Athletics Championships from September 13-21, the AFI president said.

“The AFI has also introduced regional competition to give more exposure to athletes on the fringes. The regional competitions will commence from April,” Sumariwalla revealed.

The AFI flagship event — NIDJAM (National Inter-District Athletics Meet) will take place in February and the Indian Open throws and jumps competitions will be held in March.

The first Indian Grand Prix will be held in March in Bengaluru and the second one in May in Thiruvananthapuram. Only two Indian GP athletics meets will be held in 2025, as opposed to three last year.

Among other key events, the National Inter State Senior Athletics Championships will be held in August while the National Open Athletics Championships are scheduled in September. The National Youth Championships will be in March.