Sheetal Devi is the headline of India’s Asian Para Games 2026 results. The armless archer from Jammu and Kashmir has equalled the world record, broken two more world records, won silver in the women’s doubles and reached the individual compound final, which she shoots on 22 October.

Overall, India has won 47 medals (12 gold, 17 silver, 18 bronze) at the Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, as of midday on 21 October. Para athletics leads the way with 30 medals. Below are Sheetal’s results, India’s medal tally by sport and every Indian athletics medal, day by day.

Sheetal Devi leads the Asian Para Games 2026 results

Sheetal arrived in Aichi-Nagoya as the defending champion and world No. 1 in women’s compound. Even so, her first three days were remarkable. In the ranking round, she scored 704 out of 720, equalling the world record held jointly with Turkey’s Oznur Cure. That score also raised the Asian Para Games record from 680 to 704.

Silver in the doubles with Payal Nag

In the women’s doubles, Sheetal teamed up with 18-year-old Payal Nag from Balangir, Odisha. Payal lost all four limbs in an electrocution accident as a child, and she took up archery after being inspired by Sheetal. Together, they topped the ranking round with Asian and Games records. However, in the final on 21 October, China’s Xu Xueqing and Zhao Jing won 150-141, so the Indian pair took silver.

Other Indian archers

Swati Chaudhary reached the women’s W1 final by beating South Korea’s Lee Eunhee 6-2. Meanwhile, Toman Kumar lost his men’s compound semi-final 144-149 to China’s Ai Xin Liang and goes for bronze.

Who is Sheetal Devi?

Sheetal Devi was born on 10 January 2007 in Loidhar village in the Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir. She was born with phocomelia, a rare condition that left her without arms, so she shoots with her legs and feet. In fact, she is the first female para archer without arms to become a world champion.

Around 2020, the Indian Army’s Rashtriya Rifles noticed her through Operation Sadbhavana and supported her education and medical care. Later, at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Sports Complex, coaches Abhilasha Chaudhary and Kuldeep Baidwan began training her. Within 11 months, she was competing at the Asian Para Games.

India’s Asian Para Games 2026 medal tally by sport

Para athletics has won 30 of India’s 47 medals so far. In addition, para shooting has given India a gold through Mona Agarwal in the women’s 10m air rifle SH1.

Para athletics results: 19 October

India opened with six athletics medals. Nishad Kumar won the long jump T47, and then Rinku Hooda and Ajeet Singh Yadav finished one-two in the javelin F46, just nine centimetres apart. Later, Soumya and Radha Venkatesh did the same in the women’s 1500m T12/T13.

Para athletics results: 20 October

Day 2 brought 14 athletics medals. Above all, Deepthi Jeevanji defended her 400m T20 title in a Games record of 56.36, and Simran Sharma won the 200m T12 in 24.80, also a Games record. Nishad Kumar then added a second gold in the high jump with a Games record of 2.04m.

Para athletics results: 21 October

On Wednesday, Paris Paralympic champion Praveen Kumar won the high jump T64 with a Games record of 2.05m. Then India swept the shot put F46, led by Sachin Khilari’s Games record of 15.87m. Later, Anubhav Choudhary and Rakeshbhai Bhatt both ran personal bests for 100m bronze.

Records set by Indian athletes at the Asian Para Games 2026

What to watch next

On 22 October, Sheetal Devi shoots for her second straight Asian Para Games individual gold against Singapore’s Alim Nur Syahidah. Meanwhile, the athletics programme continues until the Games end on 24 October, and India’s squad still includes two-time Paralympic javelin champion Sumit Antil. For the full athletics squad, see our Asian Para Games 2026 guide.

The Diamond League 2027 schedule has 15 meetings, starting in Doha on 7 May and ending with a two-day Final in Zurich on 25 and 26 August 2027. World Athletics announced the calendar on 13 October 2026, and it will therefore be the 18th season of the Wanda Diamond League.

In total, the series visits 15 cities on four continents. Moreover, it ends about a month before the World Championships in Beijing in September 2027, so every meeting also matters for World Championships qualification. Below, you will find the full Diamond League 2027 schedule, how the league works and what it means for Indian athletes such as Neeraj Chopra.

Diamond League 2027 schedule: full calendar

The table below lists the full Diamond League 2027 schedule in date order. In addition, the Final in Zurich is highlighted.

The 2027 season month by month

Overall, the calendar falls into four clear blocks. First, the season opens with three meetings in Asia in May. After that, it moves to Europe and Africa, crosses to the United States in early July and returns to Europe for the run-in to the Final.

May: the Asian swing and Rome

Doha, Shanghai/Keqiao and Xiamen make up the Asian leg, which is also the best time zone for Indian fans. After that come Rome on 27 May and Rabat, the only African meeting, on 30 May.

June and July: the heart of the season

Next, June brings Oslo, Stockholm and Paris. Then, in July, the league visits Eugene in the United States before three meetings in quick succession: Monaco, Lausanne and London, all within eight days of each other.

August: the run-in

After a four-week break, the season resumes in Silesia on 15 August and Brussels on 20 August. Notably, Brussels hosted the 2026 Final, and Silesia also staged a meeting in 2026; read our Silesia Diamond League 2026 report.

Diamond League Final 2027 in Zurich

The 2027 Final will be held over two days, 25 and 26 August, in Zurich. As always, the winner of each discipline is crowned Diamond League champion. For example, at the 2026 Final in Brussels, Australia’s Cameron Myers won the 1500m in 3:30.14.

How the Diamond League works

Each series meeting stages only some of the disciplines. Then, in every discipline, the top eight athletes score points: 8 for first, 7 for second and so on down to 1 for eighth. Therefore, athletes need several good results across the season to qualify.

India and the Diamond League 2027

Neeraj Chopra is India’s biggest name in the Diamond League. In 2022, he became the first Indian to win the Diamond League title, in Zurich, the same city that hosts the 2027 Final. In 2026, he threw a season-best 88.05m in Lausanne, finishing nine centimetres behind Rumesh Pathirage.

However, an ankle ligament tear ended his 2026 season in late August, so he missed the Final in Brussels. As a result, the 2027 Diamond League will be a key test of his comeback, with the World Championships in Beijing only weeks after the Final.

Diamond League 2027 and the road to Beijing

Diamond League meetings are among the highest-ranked competitions in the world rankings. That matters, because the rankings decide most World Championship places under the Beijing 2027 qualification system. Consequently, Indian athletes who cannot hit the entry standards will want as many Diamond League starts as possible.

The Indian Open U23 Athletics 2026 competition takes place from 16 to 18 October at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has published the full schedule: 40 finals over three days, including the decathlon, the heptathlon and two half marathon race walks.

This is the sixth edition of the meet for athletes in the Under 23 age group. Below, therefore, you will find the day-by-day timetable of every final, the warm-up rounds worth watching, last year’s winners and where to follow the results. In addition, we will update this page with the medal winners each evening.

Indian Open U23 Athletics 2026 dates and venue

The competition runs from Friday 16 to Sunday 18 October 2026 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. AFI announced the schedule on its official website, and it is version 1.1, dated 29 September. As AFI notes, the organisers may still change it.

Each day starts at 6:00 AM with a distance race or a race walk. Most finals, meanwhile, are in the evening session, between 2:20 PM and 6:10 PM.

Day 1 schedule: Friday 16 October

Ten finals take place on the opening day. The 100m finals close the day, with the women at 5:20 PM and the men at 5:30 PM. Before that, the 100m and 400m heats and semi-finals fill the morning and afternoon.

The men’s decathlon also starts on Day 1 with the 100m, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400m. In addition, the 1500m heats for men and women end the evening.

Day 2 schedule: Saturday 17 October

Day 2 is the busiest, with 13 finals. It opens with the men’s half marathon race walk at 6:00 AM. The 1500m finals follow in the late morning, and the hurdles and 400m finals come in quick succession after lunch.

The decathlon ends with the 1500m at 5:40 PM. Meanwhile, the women’s heptathlon covers its first four events: the 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200m.

Day 3 schedule: Sunday 18 October

The final day has 17 finals. Because of the field size, the men’s 5000m is run in three races and the men’s steeplechase in two. Places are decided on time across all the races.

The 200m, 800m and both 400m hurdles finals all fall between 3:30 PM and 4:50 PM. Then the heptathlon ends with the 800m, and the women’s steeplechase closes the competition at 6:10 PM.

Indian Open U23 2025: last year’s winners

The 5th edition took place in Warangal, Telangana, from 16 to 18 October 2025. These are the winners of ten finals, as listed on the World Athletics results page.

Two of those champions have since moved up to the senior stage. Sudeshna Shivankar ran in India’s women’s 4x100m relay final at the Asian Games 2026 in Nagoya. Mubassina Mohammed, meanwhile, won the long jump at the National Open Athletics Championships in New Delhi this month with 6.38m.

Why the Indian Open U23 Athletics 2026 meet matters

For many junior champions, the Under 23 years decide whether they make the jump to senior level. This meet, therefore, gives them a national final of their own, away from the senior stars. It also matters more this year, because Asia now has an Under 23 championship. At the inaugural Asian U23 Athletics Championships in Ordos, China, in July, India finished fourth with 16 medals (3 gold, 4 silver, 9 bronze).

Javelin thrower Anand Singh won gold in Ordos with a personal best of 80.57m. India also won the mixed and women’s 4x400m relays there. Results in Jaipur will show which young athletes can build on that.

Indian Open U23 Athletics 2026 results

After Jaipur, the junior season continues with the National Junior Athletics Championships 2026 in Chennai from 23 to 27 October. Results from the zone championships, such as the West Zone athletics 2026 results, are also on our site.

World Athletics has named 10 women for the World Athlete of the Year 2026 award, and fans can vote until midnight CEST on Saturday 17 October. The list includes four world record setters, four Ultimate Championship winners and China’s Yan Ziyi, the Asian Games javelin champion.

The nominees were announced on 6 October, together with the 10 men’s nominees. This page therefore covers every woman on the list and her 2026 season, how the vote works, how to vote and what happens next. In addition, every achievement below comes from the World Athletics announcement.

World Athlete of the Year 2026: all 10 women nominees

A panel of eight statisticians picked the nominees: two from World Athletics and one from each of the six continental associations. As a result, the World Athlete of the Year 2026 women’s list covers sprints, hurdles, middle distance, road running, race walking and three throwing events.

The seasons behind the World Athlete of the Year 2026 women nominees

Masai Russell (USA), 100m hurdles

Russell set a world record of 12.09 and ran nine of the ten fastest times of the season. In addition, she was unbeaten in the 100m hurdles, and she won the Ultimate Championship title in Budapest as well as the Diamond League title.

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (USA), 100m and 200m

Jefferson-Wooden won a sprint double at the Ultimate Championship, taking the 100m and the 200m. Moreover, her world-leading 21.47 in the 200m put her third on the world all-time list, and she ran a world-leading 10.62 in the 100m.

Marileidy Paulino (Dominican Republic), 400m

Paulino won the Ultimate 400m title and regained the Diamond League title. Furthermore, she was unbeaten and ran under 49 seconds in eight races, and set a world lead and Diamond League record of 48.48.

Audrey Werro (Switzerland), 800m

Werro won the Ultimate, Diamond League and European 800m titles. On top of that, she broke the Diamond League record three times, and her world-leading 1:53.70 puts her third on the world all-time list.

Tigst Assefa (Ethiopia), marathon

First, Assefa won the London Marathon in a women-only world record of 2:15:41. Later, she won the Berlin Marathon in 2:11:04, the third-fastest time in history.

Agnes Ngetich (Kenya), road and cross-country

Ngetich won the world half marathon title by 50 seconds in a women-only world record of 1:05:15. Besides that, she won the world cross-country title by 42 seconds and ran world leads for 3000m (8:08.95) and 10km (28:58).

María Pérez (Spain), race walk

Pérez set the inaugural world record for the half marathon race walk, 1:30:06. Remarkably, she did it while winning the European title by 58 seconds.

Chase Jackson (USA), shot put

First of all, Jackson improved the North American shot put record twice, to 21.02m and then 21.14m. In addition, she won the world indoor title and set a Diamond League record to regain the Diamond Trophy.

Camryn Rogers (Canada), hammer throw

Above all, Rogers improved her own North American record to 81.13m, which keeps her second on the world all-time list. In fact, she also had the five best throws in the world this year and retained her Commonwealth Games title.

Yan Ziyi: the only Asian among the World Athlete of the Year 2026 women

Yan Ziyi of China is the only Asian woman on the list. To begin with, she opened her season with 71.74m, an Asian and world U20 record that puts her second on the world all-time javelin list. Then, in Nagoya, she won the Asian Games javelin title with 70.46m, an Asian Games record, at the age of 18.

Asia, in fact, has a javelin champion on both lists. Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage, who won the men’s javelin gold in Nagoya, is among the men’s nominees. You can read more about the Chinese athletics team at the Asian Games on our site.

How to vote for World Athlete of the Year 2026 (women and men)

The vote decides the final ranking of all ten World Athlete of the Year 2026 women nominees, from first to tenth. In total, four groups vote, and each one counts for 25% of the result:

What happens after the World Athlete of the Year 2026 women and men vote

After that, the six finalists are invited to the World Athletics Awards in Monaco, where each winner is announced on stage. For comparison, last year Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of the USA won the women’s award and Mondo Duplantis of Sweden the men’s, as World Track reported.

The West Zone athletics 2026 results are now official. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has published the result sheets of the 37th West Zone Junior Athletics Championships, held at the Atal Athletics Stadium in Bambolim, Goa, from 27 to 29 September.

This page therefore lists the gold, silver and bronze medallists in 84 finals, from Under 20 down to Under 14. In addition, you will find the standout marks, the sprint doubles and a medal count by state. Every result below comes from the official AFI result sheets.

West Zone athletics 2026 results: the highlights

Maharashtra dominated the meet in Goa. Its athletes won 31 of the 84 titles listed here, and 55 medals in all. Gujarat also won 55 medals, but only 15 of them were gold.

The fastest men: Tilak Barsel, Arnav Kadam and Raj Chauhan

Tilak Barsel of Chhattisgarh won the Under 20 men’s 100m in 10.81 seconds. Arnav Kadam of Maharashtra then took the 200m in 21.92, while his teammate Raj Chauhan won the 400m in 48.92. In addition, Harsh Nishad of Chhattisgarh broke four minutes in the 1500m with 3:59.54.

Three sprint doubles

Three athletes won both the 100m and the 200m in their age group:

Javelin gold by 13 centimetres

The Under 18 boys’ javelin was the closest field final of the meet. Manjeet Kumar of Rajasthan threw 71.70m, while Shourya Agrawal of Chhattisgarh replied with 71.57m. As a result, just 13 centimetres decided the gold.

The other throws were strong as well. For example, Usmanali Khan of Madhya Pradesh won the Under 20 discus with 55.16m, and Divyanshu Saharan of Rajasthan threw 64.18m in the Under 16 javelin. Meanwhile, Ganesh Singh of Rajasthan cleared 2.00m to win the Under 18 high jump.

Under 20 men: West Zone athletics 2026 results

Here are the medallists in 20 Under 20 men’s finals. Times are in minutes and seconds, while field marks are in metres.

Under 20 women: West Zone 2026 results and medal winners

Maharashtra won the most Under 20 women’s titles, 10 of 20. Some fields were small, so a few events have fewer than three medallists. Here are the 20 finals.

West Zone Under 18 results: boys and girls

Boys: Under 18 medal winners

Girls: Under 18 medal winners

Under 16 and Under 14 West Zone results

The Under 16 events are shorter. For example, the sprint is over 60m and the middle-distance race is over 600m.

Boys: Under 16 medal winners

Girls: Under 16 medal winners

Kids javelin and mixed relay

West Zone 2026 medal count by state

AFI’s result sheets do not include a team points table. So we counted the medals in the 84 finals listed above. Some events had fewer than three finishers, which is why there are 82 silver and 77 bronze medals.

However, this is our count and not the official standings. It also leaves out the combined events named in the note above. We will add the official team standings here as soon as AFI publishes them.

West Zone winners against the National Junior entry standards

The next stop for many of these athletes is the National Junior Athletics Championships 2026 in Chennai. Therefore, we compared ten Under 20 winning marks from Goa with the AFI entry standards for that meet.

Seven of the ten winners were inside the standard. Above all, Aditya and Harsh Nishad of Chhattisgarh only just made it, by 0.11 and 0.46 seconds. However, the hammer, javelin and women’s 800m champions were outside the mark.

West Zone championships in recent years

Jodhpur hosted the 34th edition in October 2023. Rajasthan topped the men’s points table with 273, while Gujarat led the women’s table with 143, according to the AFI points sheet. Then Nagpur staged the 35th edition from 4 to 6 October 2024; its results are on our site (PDF).

However, the 36th edition, due in Shivpuri in September 2025, did not go ahead as planned. AFI postponed it a few days before the start, and its notice gave no new dates.

After the West Zone athletics 2026 meet: what comes next

The 41st National Junior Athletics Championships will take place at the JN Stadium in Chennai from 23 to 27 October. After that, the 20th NIDJAM follows in Hyderabad from 14 to 16 November for Under 14 and Under 16 athletes.

Meanwhile, results from the other zones are on our East Zone athletics 2026 results and South Zone athletics 2026 results pages, and in the North Zone 2026 results (PDF).

NIDJAM 2026, the 20th National Inter District Junior Athletics Meet, will take place at Woxsen University in Hyderabad from 14 to 16 November. It is the Athletics Federation of India’s biggest talent hunt for Under 14 and Under 16 athletes, and every entry comes through a district athletics association.

Online entries open on 15 October and close on 30 October. This guide therefore covers everything from the AFI circular: the age limits, the events, how many athletes a district can send, the entry steps and the documents to carry.

What is NIDJAM?

NIDJAM is AFI’s national meet for district champions. AFI first launched it in 2003, and its aim is to find young talent early and give it a national stage.

The meet has grown with every edition. For example, the 2018 meet in Tirupati drew more than 4,500 athletes from over 420 districts. Then the 2023 edition in Patna had 5,482 athletes from 599 districts, according to The Bridge.

NIDJAM 2026 age groups: who is eligible

There are only two age groups, and the date of birth decides the group. In addition, an athlete must be at least 12 years old on 16 November 2026.

For example, a child born on 20 December 2012 is in the Under 14 group. However, a child born on 1 November 2012 falls in the Under 16 group.

NIDJAM 2026 events for Under 14 and Under 16

Under 14: triathlons and kids javelin

Under 14 athletes do not enter single events. Instead, each athlete chooses one triathlon group. Every Under 14 athlete must also take part in the kids javelin throw.

Under 16: single events with lighter implements

The Under 16 events use shorter runways and lighter implements than senior athletics. For example, the shot put is a standing throw, and the high jump is scissor style only.

The circular also lists a pentathlon of 60m, 80m hurdles, long jump, standing shot put and 600m. However, its table does not make clear which group runs it, so check with your district unit before you enter.

How many athletes can a district send to NIDJAM 2026?

The quota is small, so district selection matters. Each district can send:

Above all, only districts that have held a district meet under AFI guidelines can enter. The district association also has to send the district meet results, press cuttings and photographs with its entry, and it needs a valid PAN in its own name.

How to enter NIDJAM 2026

Athletes cannot enter on their own. Instead, the district athletics association enters them online. Here are the steps:

NIDJAM 2026 age verification and documents

Age verification takes place on 13 November, at the venue, as soon as the teams arrive. An AFI committee, which includes doctors, checks every athlete, and managers or coaches have to present their athletes in person.

So bring the original proof of date of birth. AFI accepts either a birth certificate from the Birth and Death Registration Office (municipal corporation, nagar palika or district) or a Class 10 certificate. As a result, an athlete who does not clear verification cannot compete.

Food, stay and travel at NIDJAM 2026

AFI provides food from 13 to 17 November. It also gives free boarding and lodging to up to 13 athletes and 2 officials from each district.

In addition, AFI pays back the rail fare after the meet. It checks the original tickets and the athlete’s actual participation, and then it pays the money into the district association’s bank account. However, overage athletes get no travel allowance, food or accommodation.

Last edition: the 19th NIDJAM in Ahmedabad

The 19th NIDJAM took place at Gujarat University in Ahmedabad from 16 to 18 February 2024. You can see the 19th NIDJAM results (PDF) on our site.

Where else Under 14 and Under 16 athletes compete this season

The Under 14 and Under 16 groups also race at the National Junior Athletics Championships 2026 in Chennai from 23 to 27 October. Meanwhile, the zone results show the current level: see the Under 16 tables in our East Zone athletics 2026 results.

The East Zone athletics 2026 results are now official. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has published the result sheets of the 37th East Zone Junior Athletics Championships, which took place in Patna from 22 to 24 September.

This page therefore lists the gold, silver and bronze medallists in 84 finals, age group by age group. In addition, you will find the closest finishes, the athletes who won two golds and a medal count by state. Every result below comes from the official AFI result sheets.

East Zone athletics 2026 results: the highlights

Bihar, the hosts, and Odisha shared the spotlight in Patna. Both states won 59 medals in the 84 finals listed here. However, Bihar finished with 22 golds, while Odisha had 21.

Prince Kumar wins the 100m, Koushik Gogoi takes the 200m

Prince Kumar of Bihar won the Under 20 men’s 100m in 10.76 seconds. Behind him, Pratik Maharana of Odisha and Koushik Gogoi of Assam both clocked 10.84. Gogoi then returned to win the 200m in 22.51, while Maharana took silver again.

Five athletes with two individual golds

In addition, five athletes won two individual titles in the events listed here.

The closest finals in Patna

The Under 20 men’s 4x100m relay was the tightest race of the meet. Bihar won in 43.04, Odisha followed in 43.06 and Assam finished in 43.08. As a result, only four hundredths of a second separated the three medal teams.

Similarly, the photo-finish camera decided two individual medals. In the Under 20 men’s 800m, Rahul Oraon and Vikas Singh both clocked 1:57.86, but Oraon took silver by four thousandths of a second. In the Under 18 boys’ 100m, Ayushman Mahapatra won bronze in 11.17, because he was five thousandths ahead of Rishu Raj.

Prem Raj wins the long jump again

Prem Raj of Bihar won the Under 18 boys’ long jump with 7.33m. Earlier this season, he also broke the meet record at the Youth Nationals with 7.58m.

Big throws and golds for the smaller teams

The throws also produced strong marks. Subham Das of Odisha won the Under 20 men’s javelin with 68.44m, while Ayush Raj of Bihar threw 68.09m for the Under 18 title. In addition, Dev Raj of Bihar won the Under 18 discus with 52.17m.

The smaller teams also reached the top of the podium. For example, Phurba Hissey Sherpa and Sabina Rai won golds for Sikkim, in the Under 20 men’s 1500m and the women’s 3000m steeplechase. Meanwhile, Tusame Marak of Meghalaya won the Under 18 girls’ high jump, and Yanu Mane of Arunachal Pradesh took the Under 20 women’s 800m.

Under 20 men: East Zone athletics 2026 results

The table below has the medallists in 21 Under 20 men’s finals. Times are in minutes and seconds, while field marks are in metres.

Under 20 women: East Zone 2026 results and medal winners

Odisha and Jharkhand won most of the Under 20 women’s titles. Here are the medallists in 19 finals.

East Zone Under 18 results: boys and girls

Boys: Under 18 medal winners

Girls: Under 18 medal winners

Under 16 and Under 14 East Zone results

The Under 16 events are shorter. For example, the sprint is over 60m and the middle-distance race is over 600m.

Boys: Under 16 medal winners

Girls: Under 16 medal winners

Kids javelin: Under 14 medal winners

East Zone 2026 medal count by state

AFI’s result sheets do not include a team points table. So we counted the medals in the 84 finals listed above. Two events had a tie for bronze, which is why the bronze column adds up to 86.

However, this is our count and not the official standings. It also leaves out the events named in the note above, so the final order can still change. We will add the official team standings here as soon as AFI publishes them.

East Zone winners against the National Junior entry standards

The next stop for many of these athletes is the National Junior Athletics Championships 2026 in Chennai. Therefore, we compared nine winning marks in Patna with the AFI entry standards for that meet.

Six of the nine winners were inside the standard. However, the other three winning marks were outside it. So an East Zone gold does not guarantee the entry mark on its own.

Last year: Jharkhand won the title in Ranchi

Ranchi hosted the 36th edition from 22 to 24 September 2025 at the Morabadi football stadium. Jharkhand won the overall title with 172 points, while Bihar finished second with 168, according to ETV Bharat. You can also compare this year’s marks with the East Zone 2025 results (PDF).

After the East Zone athletics 2026 meet: what comes next

The 41st National Junior Athletics Championships will take place at the JN Stadium in Chennai from 23 to 27 October. After that, the 20th NIDJAM follows in Hyderabad from 14 to 16 November for Under 14 and Under 16 athletes.

Meanwhile, results from the other zones are on our South Zone athletics 2026 results page and in the North Zone 2026 results (PDF). Results from every other meet this season are also on the Indian athletics results page.

The 41st National Junior Athletics Championships 2026 will take place from 23 to 27 October at the JN Stadium in Chennai, and online entries close on Friday 9 October. The meet also covers four age groups, from Under 14 to Under 20.

This guide puts everything in one place for athletes, parents and coaches. You will find the entry standards for every age group, as well as the entry fee, the age rules and the documents you need for age verification. In addition, we explain how hard the standards really are, with results from this season.

National Junior Athletics Championships 2026: key dates

Four dates matter. Above all, do not miss the first one, because entries close that day.

Entries opened on 19 September, so only a few days remain. After that, the next step is age verification in Chennai.

Age groups: which category are you in?

Your date of birth decides your age group. For example, an athlete born on 15 March 2009 competes in the Under 18 group.

How to enter the National Junior Athletics Championships 2026

Athletes cannot enter on their own. Instead, the state or union territory association sends every entry online. So if you have the standard, contact your state association before 9 October.

National Junior Athletics Championships 2026 entry standards: Under 20

These are the marks from the AFI circular. Times are in minutes and seconds, while field marks are in metres.

The Under 20 programme also has 4x100m and 4x400m mixed relays. However, the circular does not list an entry standard for them.

Entry standards: Under 18

Entry standards: Under 16 and Under 14

The Under 16 events are shorter and simpler. For example, the high jump is scissor style only, and the long jump uses a five-metre runway.

Under 14: no entry standards

However, the circular lists no entry standards for the Under 14 group. Instead, each athlete picks one triathlon group, and every Under 14 athlete also takes part in the kids javelin throw.

How hard are the entry standards?

The standard is the minimum, not a medal mark. In order to show the gap, we compared the Under 20 standards with the winning marks at the North Zone Junior Championships in September.

Most zone winners were well inside the standard. However, the last row tells a different story. Harshil won the North Zone Under 20 women’s 400m in 1:00.90, which is outside the 58.50 standard. So a zone gold does not guarantee the mark.

At the top end, however, the level is far higher. For example, Neil Samraj ran 10.46 in September to break the Under 18 100m national record, while the Under 18 entry standard is 11.50.

Similarly, Prem Raj of Bihar jumped 7.58m to win long jump gold at the National Youth Championships in Ludhiana. In comparison, the Under 18 entry standard for Chennai is 6.50m, so he cleared it by more than a metre.

Age verification: documents you must carry

The Age Verification Committee checks every athlete from 21 October at the stadium. No athlete can compete without this check, so carry the original documents.

Other rules at the venue

The National Anti-Doping Agency will conduct dope tests during the championships. In addition, AFI issues participation certificates online, and only to athletes who perform to the entry standard at the meet. Merit certificates also come online, after the dope test reports arrive.

Last year: Tamil Nadu won by two points

Bhubaneswar hosted the 40th edition at the Kalinga Stadium from 10 to 14 October 2025. Tamil Nadu won the overall trophy with 289 points, while Haryana finished second with 287, according to AFI.

Tamil Nadu therefore host the meet as defending champions. In addition, they have just won the overall title at the South Zone Junior Championships 2026.

National Junior Athletics Championships 2026 schedule and results

AFI has not published the day-wise schedule yet. We will add it here as soon as it is out, and then the results after every session from 23 October. Until then, results from every other meet this season are on our Indian athletics results page.

The South Zone athletics 2026 results have a clear headline: Tamil Nadu won the overall title at the 37th South Zone Junior Athletics Championships in Puducherry, while Karnataka finished second. More than 1,500 athletes from seven states and union territories competed over three days at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex.

However, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has not yet published the complete result sheets for this meet. This page therefore lists every result that published reports have confirmed so far, along with the source for each one. We will also add the full event-wise results here as soon as the official sheets are out.

South Zone athletics 2026 results: Tamil Nadu take the overall title

Tamil Nadu finished first in the overall standings, and Karnataka took second place. Dinamalar reported the result after the closing ceremony in Puducherry. However, the points table is not public yet, so the final scores of the seven teams are still unknown.

Karnataka’s challenge also came with records. For example, athletes from Alva’s in Moodbidri won 26 medals and set five meet records, according to Udayavani.

Meet records at the South Zone athletics 2026 championships

Four meet records are confirmed so far. Above all, two of them had stood for more than 20 years.

Tholem Sriteja breaks a 32-year-old heptathlon record

Tholem Sriteja of Telangana scored 4,965 points in the U20 women’s heptathlon. As a result, she broke the record of 4,817 points that Sumavathi of Karnataka had set in 1994. Sriteja is 19 and comes from Bhadrachalam. She also won the heptathlon gold at the 2025 National Junior Championships, according to Telangana Today.

Salim throws 64.09m in the hammer

Salim, from Chikkamagaluru in Karnataka, won the U20 men’s hammer throw with 64.09m. That throw beat a South Zone record of 62.44m, which had stood since 2003.

Records for K. Swapna and J.V. Joshna

In addition, K. Swapna of Telangana set a meet record of 11:25.39 in the women’s 3000m steeplechase. J.V. Joshna of Tamil Nadu also won the U18 women’s javelin throw. In doing so, she broke a record that had stood for four years.

South Zone athletics 2026 results: confirmed medal winners

The table below lists every medal that published reports have confirmed. However, it is not the full result list, because AFI has not released the official sheets yet.

Tamil Nadu

Santhosh Krishnan won the U16 boys’ 80m hurdles in 10.50 seconds. He trains at the SDAT sports hostel in Madurai. In addition, three athletes from Coimbatore colleges won gold. Brinda A won the high jump and the 4x100m relay, while Amirtha J won the U20 women’s 3000m. Yuvan Sharavan also won the 400m, and then took silver in the 400m hurdles and the 4x400m relay.

Telangana

Telangana athletes feature heavily in the confirmed results. Nallavelli Anandi won the U18 women’s 400m in 56.42 seconds, and then added bronze in the 200m in 25.66. Similarly, Uday Kiran won the long jump with 6.86m, while Sai Aditya won the 600m and a medley relay gold.

Karnataka

Sakshi Christina Karkada of Mangaluru won gold in the U18 medley relay as well as bronze in the U18 100m hurdles. She now plans to compete at the junior nationals in Chennai, according to Daijiworld.

Who competed: teams, age groups and rules

Seven teams make up the South Zone: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. Each of them could enter two athletes per event in each age group. In addition, an athlete could take part in two individual events.

The programme covered track events, field events, combined events and relays, so every age group had its own set of events. You can still see the timetable on the AFI page for the meet.

What comes next after the South Zone athletics 2026 meet

The junior season now moves to the 41st National Junior Athletics Championships. Chennai will host that meet at the JN Stadium from 23 to 27 October 2026. Online entries close on 9 October, and every athlete needs the AFI entry standard for the event. Therefore, athletes and coaches should check their South Zone marks against the entry standards in the AFI circular before the deadline.

Meanwhile, senior athletes are in action this week at the National Open Athletics Championships 2026 in New Delhi.

Official South Zone athletics 2026 result sheets: current status

As of 5 October 2026, the AFI results archive has the North Zone Junior results. However, it does not yet have the South, East or West Zone results. Until AFI publishes them, these links are the most useful:

Last year: South Zone 2025 in Guntur

Guntur hosted the 36th edition from 23 to 25 September 2025. Neil Samraj of Tamil Nadu won the U18 100m there in 10.86 seconds. Since then, he has broken the U18 100m national record twice in one day. Similarly, Mohammed Ashfaq of Kerala won the U20 400m in 47.31 seconds.

That is why the South Zone meet matters. It is often the first place where the next national record holder wins a title.

The 65th National Open Athletics Championships 2026 will take place from 8 to 11 October at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. Over four days, India’s senior athletes will contest 48 finals, from the men’s pole vault on Thursday afternoon to the men’s 4x400m relay on Sunday night.

This page has the full day-wise schedule with timings in IST, as well as the time of every final, the entry standards and the rules for athletes. We will also add results here after each session, so athletes, coaches and families can follow the whole meet in one place.

National Open Athletics Championships 2026 schedule: how the four days break down

The programme builds towards the weekend. Thursday has seven finals, Friday has 14 and Saturday has 11, while Sunday closes the meet with 16. Each day runs in two sessions: a short morning session for the combined events and race walks, and then a long evening session under lights for the track and field finals.

When is each final? Timings for every event

If you are following one athlete or one event, this is the table you need. All timings are in IST and come from the official schedule (version 1.0, dated 30 September 2026).

Track finals

Field events, race walks, relays and combined events

In addition, the two mixed relays are on separate nights: the 4x100m mixed relay final is on Fri 9 Oct, 8:00 pm and the 4x400m mixed relay final is on Sat 10 Oct, 8:00 pm.

National Open Athletics Championships 2026: full day-wise schedule

Rows marked FINAL decide medals. Everything else is either a heat, a qualification round or a combined-event discipline.

Day 1: Thursday 8 October 2026 (7 finals)

The meet opens with the decathlon 100m at 7:30 am. After that, the men’s pole vault decides the first medals from 4:25 pm. In addition, the women’s 100m has its heats and its final on the same evening.

Day 2: Friday 9 October 2026 (14 finals)

The half marathon race walks start before sunrise. The evening has both 400m finals, the men’s 100m final and the last event of the decathlon.

Day 3: Saturday 10 October 2026 (11 finals)

The heptathlon begins in the morning. The evening has both 4x100m relays, the women’s 10,000m and the men’s 5000m, and ends with the 4x400m mixed relay.

Day 4: Sunday 11 October 2026 (16 finals)

The final day is the biggest: 16 finals, including the 200m, 800m, 400m hurdles, both steeplechases, the men’s javelin and the 4x400m relays.

Three points are worth noting from the schedule. To begin with, the schedule lists the men’s 110m hurdles and the women’s 800m as straight finals, with no heats. Similarly, the 200m has only one round before the final. Finally, the men’s discus is the only field event with a qualification round, held in two groups on Thursday morning with a qualifying mark of 58.50m.

The schedule is version 1.0. AFI can revise timings once it confirms the final entries, so check the latest version before you travel to the stadium.

National Open Athletics Championships 2026 results

Competition starts on Thursday 8 October. After that, we will add the results of every final to this section after each session, together with the official result sheets. Until then, results from every other AFI meet this season are on our Indian athletics results page.

Decathlon and heptathlon schedule

The men’s decathlon is on Thursday and Friday. It starts with the 100m at 7:30 am on 8 October and then finishes with the 1500m at 7:45 pm on 9 October. Similarly, the women’s heptathlon is on Saturday and Sunday. It starts with the 100m hurdles at 7:30 am on 10 October and then finishes with the 800m at 6:40 pm on 11 October.

Who can compete at the National Open

Entries come from state and union territory athletics associations as well as from recognised sports boards and institutions. According to the AFI circular, an athlete must have achieved the entry standard and must also meet one of two conditions:

National Open 2026 entry standards

Athletes needed these marks in order to enter. They are also a useful benchmark for younger athletes who want to know what national senior level looks like.

Starting heights in the jumps

What athletes and families should know before travelling

The stadium also has its own stop on the Delhi Metro. Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium station is on the Violet Line.

Why this National Open matters

The meet comes four days after the close of the Asian Games in Nagoya, where India won 24 athletics medals. On AFI’s 2026 calendar it is the last national championship for senior athletes, which makes it the final chance of the season to win a national title or improve a ranking mark.

It has also been a record-heavy year. Our count had 26 national records by mid-July, and more have fallen since. For athletes who missed selection for Nagoya, four days in Delhi are therefore an opportunity to end the season with a statement.

Last year: Ranchi 2025

Ranchi hosted the 64th National Open from 27 to 30 September 2025. Manikanta Hoblidhar won the men’s 100m, Rajesh Ramesh won the 400m, Samardeep Singh Gill beat Tajinderpal Singh Toor in the shot put, and Rishabh Nehra won the javelin with a throw beyond 80m.