The Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) has approved overseas training proposals for two of India’s top track and field athletes — double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra and long-distance runner Gulveer Singh — ahead of the 2026 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.

Neeraj Chopra has received clearance for a 47-day off-season training camp in Switzerland, while Gulveer Singh’s proposal for training and competition exposure in the United States from May 15 to June 17 has also been approved. Gulveer will travel along with his coach as part of the programme.

The approvals once again bring into focus an ongoing debate within Indian athletics — whether elite athletes truly need expensive foreign training camps when training infrastructure within India has improved significantly over the past decade.

The issue has been discussed extensively by NNIS Sports, with differing views emerging from athletes, coaches and administrators. One side argues that India now possesses enough high-performance facilities, sports science support and coaching ecosystems to prepare athletes domestically, especially given the heavy financial costs associated with overseas camps.

Critics of frequent foreign exposure also point to the uneven allocation of resources, arguing that a small group of elite athletes often receive repeated overseas support while grassroots development and domestic competition structures still need strengthening.

However, supporters of international training believe overseas exposure remains critical for athletes competing at the highest level. Training abroad allows athletes to spar and compete with world-class opponents, adapt to different competitive conditions and gain access to specialised coaching environments that may still be difficult to replicate consistently in India.

For Neeraj Chopra in particular, overseas training has become a key part of his annual preparation cycle as he continues to compete regularly against the world’s best throwers. Similarly, for Gulveer Singh, exposure to the highly competitive American distance-running circuit could provide valuable race experience and help improve performance standards.

As India prepares for a crucial multi-sport cycle leading into the 2026 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, the debate over domestic preparation versus international exposure is unlikely to fade anytime soon.