Reeth Rathore delivered another strong performance on the domestic circuit, winning the women’s high jump title at the Indian Series-5 with a season-best clearance of 1.80m.
The mark is especially significant as it stands as the second-highest clearance of her career, highlighting the consistency and progress of the young high jumper. Reeth had earlier emerged as the 2025 Junior Federation Cup champion, where she achieved her personal best of 1.81m — a mark that still stands as the meet record.
In Sangrur, Reeth once again showcased her ability to perform under pressure, edging out fellow competitors in a closely contested event. Khyati claimed the silver medal with a clearance of 1.78m, while Mansi secured bronze after clearing 1.70m.
Interestingly, all three medal winners are coached by Gaurav Tyagi, underlining the depth and success of his high jump training group. With performances like these, Reeth continues to establish herself as one of India’s most promising young talents in women’s high jump.
Manpreet Kaur delivered an impressive performance at the Indian Series-5 in Sangrur, clinching the gold medal in women’s shot put with a season-best throw of 17.33m.
The mark is significant as it stands as the best throw by an Indian woman in nearly two years. The previous top Indian performance came from Abha Khatua, who threw the current national record of 18.41m in 2024.
For Manpreet, the result also marks her best performance in almost three years, signaling a strong return to form for the experienced Railways athlete. Her personal best remains 18.06m, achieved in 2022 — a mark that also stood as the national record at the time.
Manpreet showed consistency through the competition before producing her winning effort in the final round. Her series read: 16.16m, 16.39m, 15.92m, 16.47m, foul, and a brilliant 17.33m.
The performance will boost confidence for Manpreet as she looks to build momentum in the domestic season and push closer to her personal best once again.
The 18-year-old clinched gold in the women’s hammer throw event with the best distance of her career so far. However, despite surpassing her previous best, the mark will not be recognised as her official personal best because the competition was not certified by World Athletics.
As a result, her official lifetime best remains the 62.89m she achieved last season.
Even so, the performance has caught attention across Indian athletics circles for another reason. Anushka’s throw was farther than the season-leading registered mark of 62.18m set by Tanya Chaudhary earlier this year.
That comparison underlines the scale of Anushka’s potential. Still only 18, she is rapidly emerging as one of India’s brightest young talents in the throws events.
While the mark may not enter the official record books, it serves as a strong indicator of the level she is capable of reaching this season.
World Athletics Vice-President and AFI spokesperson Adille J. Sumariwalla has categorically rejected reports of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the national athletics federations of India and Russia. This denial comes despite mounting evidence of a formal agreement for training and athlete exchange.
“I can categorically confirm that there is no Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Russian Athletics and the AFI and no Russian athlete will compete in India while World Athletics’ sanctions remain in place,” Sumariwalla said.
“We all hope there is a resolution soon to Russia’s war on Ukraine and we standby to re-engage with Russian athletics as soon as this comes to pass.”
NNIS Sports first reported the tie-up, backed by multiple sources and a social media post that appeared to confirm the partnership. Our investigation uncovered an official broadcast on the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) website, dated April 29, 2026, headlined: “Russian Athletics has agreed on cooperation with the Athletics Federation of India.”
The Russian statement left little room for ambiguity:
“As a result of the negotiations, a set of measures was agreed upon to expand sports cooperation, including the participation of Russian athletes in national competitions in India.”
The evidence isn’t just digital; it’s visual. A photograph shows the high-level Russian delegation including Executive Director Boris Yaryshevskiy and Secretary General Alexander Djordjadze posing outside the AFI office. They are flanked by Indian heavyweights including Lalit Bhanot, Sandeep Mehta, and Stanley Jones, alongside India’s foreign javelin expert Sergey Makarov, who reportedly mediated the talks.
So, why is Sumariwalla suddenly denying a meeting that was documented by the Russians themselves? The answer likely lies in the upheaval caused in the corridors of international sports politics.
While the IOC has recently shown a softer stance toward Belarus, World Athletics remains the fiercest critic of both Belarus and Russia, maintaining a strict ban on Russian participation under their national flag. As a Vice-President of World Athletics, Sumariwalla sits in a seat of global governance that is currently at loggerheads, bureaucratically, with the Russian Federation.
Assuming no MoU was signed and only informal talks were held; how did it even reach that stage? Didn’t the AFI which included Sandeep Mehta, the secretary, in the so-called informal meeting understand that anything with Russia will spark off alarm bells?
So, is the denial now a matter of national policy, or was the heat from WA a bit too much?
Unlike prior doping related suspensions (2017-2021) where Russians competed as “Authorised Neutral Athletes” (ANA), the current ban excludes them completely. Russian and Belarusian athletes did not compete at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
A direct MoU, which is being denied now, with the Russian Federation (RusAF) bypasses this protocol, which is a major “no-no” in the eyes of Seb Coe.
With the Federation Cup and major international competitions approaching, several of India’s top names will be in action. Here are the athletes to watch out for in Sangrur:
1. Annu Rani (Javelin Throw)
India’s national record holder opens her 2026 season after a best of 62.59m last year. A former Asian Games champion and Olympian, Annu remains the face of Indian women’s javelin and Sangrur could offer the first glimpse of her form heading into the bigger meets of the season.
2. Damneet Singh (Hammer Throw)
Competing on home soil in Punjab, Damneet will be targeting the national record. One of India’s most promising hammer throwers, he has steadily improved on the domestic circuit and will have local support behind him.
3. Rohit Yadav (Javelin Throw)
Rohit comes into the competition after throwing 82.17m to win gold in his last outing. The Tokyo Olympian has battled injuries in recent years but remains one of India’s strongest javelin prospects alongside the country’s elite names.
4. Dipanshu Sharma (Javelin Throw)
The reigning Asian U20 champion is one of the brightest young talents in Indian athletics. Sangrur offers another opportunity for the youngster to test himself against senior competition
5. Kiran Pahal (400m)
All eyes will be on Kiran as she opens her season. She is India’s second-fastest woman ever over 400m and has emerged as a key figure in the country’s relay setup.
6. Tajinderpal Singh Toor (Shot Put)
The Asian Games gold medalist recently crossed 21 metres again, signaling a return to form. When fit, Toor remains India’s premier shot putter and a major attraction at any domestic meet.
7. Deepika (Javelin Throw)
The U20 national record holder continues to impress at the junior level and represents the next generation of Indian women’s javelin.
8. Ravina Gayakwad (5000m)
The 2025 Interstate champion will headline the distance events and will look to continue her consistent run on the national circuit.
9. Reet Rathor (High Jump)
Reet arrives after winning the 2025 Junior Federation Cup with a leap of 1.81m and is among the most exciting young jumpers in the country.
10. Khyati Mathur (High Jump)
The 2024 Interstate champion with a personal best of 1.86m will be one of the favourites in the women’s high jump competition.
11. Niharika Vashisht (Triple Jump)
Niharika has already begun her season strongly with a 13.41m effort and will look to build momentum ahead of the major domestic championships.
12. Sanjana Choudhary (Javelin Throw)
The Open Throws 2026 champion has been in strong form and adds further depth to a stacked women’s javelin field in Sangrur.
The Sangrur leg of the Indian Athletics Series comes at a crucial point in the season, with athletes chasing form, qualification marks, and momentum before the Federation Cup later this month.
The global sporting landscape is about to witness a massive tactical shift. According to recent reports, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is undergoing a significant “restructuring” that has effectively put the brakes on some of its most high-profile expansion projects.
Under the direct leadership of the IOC President, Kirsty Coventry, the organization is pivoting back to its “core business,” leaving the future of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) and the much-hyped Olympic Esports Games in a state of sudden uncertainty.
Asunción in Paraguay, Bangkok in Thailand and Santiago in Chile were in the running for he 2030 YOG after they were invited into the IOC’s targeted dialogue phase of the bid process in December. The three cities had been preparing for a June election as part of an IOC Extraordinary Session.
The Scouting Report: Back to Basics
For years, the IOC has been sprinting toward “innovation,” trying to capture the Gen-Z audience through digital initiatives and youth-centric events. However, this latest move suggests a “defensive huddle.” The administration is streamlining its operations, citing the need to focus resources on the primary Summer and Winter Olympiads.
What is on hold?
- Olympic Esports Games: Once hailed as the “future of the movement,” the formal rollout of a dedicated Esports Olympiad is now in limbo. The IOC is reassessing whether the “digital stadium” is a distraction from the physical track.
- Youth Olympic Games (YOG): Often seen as the testing ground for new sports, the YOG is being paused as part of a wider cost-cutting and organizational “audit.”
- Institutional Restructuring: The IOC is trimming the fat, merging departments to ensure that the “Flagship Product”—the main Olympic Games—remains financially bulletproof in an unstable global economy.
World Athletics has rejected a recommendation from the International Olympic Committee to allow Belarusian athletes back into international competition, maintaining its hardline stance linked to the war in Ukraine.
At a press conference on Thursday, the IOC urged international sports federations to consider lifting restrictions on Belarus while continuing sanctions against Russia. Both nations have largely been excluded from global sport since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The IOC argued that Belarus should now be treated differently because its National Olympic Committee remains “in good standing” and complies with the Olympic Charter. The committee also pointed to ongoing anti-doping concerns surrounding Russia as a reason for maintaining separate treatment between the two countries.
The move is being seen by many observers as a potential first step toward the eventual reintegration of Russian athletes into global sport as well. Earlier this year, IOC president Kirsty Coventry hinted that the issue of Russia’s return could also be revisited in the future.
However, World Athletics has made it clear that it will not follow the IOC’s recommendation. Under the leadership of Sebastian Coe, the governing body has consistently taken one of the toughest positions against both Russia and Belarus, citing not only the invasion of Ukraine but also long-standing concerns over state-sponsored doping in Russian athletics.
Before the 2024 Paris Olympics, Coe visited Ukraine and met athletes as well as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, reinforcing the federation’s public support for Ukrainian sport.
A World Athletics official reiterated on Thursday that sanctions introduced in March 2022 “excluding Belarusian and Russian athletes, officials and supporting personnel from competition remain in place” and will continue for the foreseeable future.
In the world of sports diplomacy, a single signature can either elevate a nation or get it kicked out of the stadium. This week, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) narrowly avoided the latter.
After weeks of speculation—a story first broken right here by NNIS Sports—the AFI has officially distanced itself from a proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Russian Athletics Federation. In what can only be described as a desperate “defensive slide” to avoid a collision with World Athletics (WA), the AFI has shelved plans that would have seen a formal exchange program between the two nations.
The proposal was simple: India and Russia would share coaching expertise, training facilities, and competitive exposure. On paper, it looked like a win for athlete development. But in the global political arena, Russia is currently playing with a “red card.”
Since the 2015 state-sponsored doping scandal and the subsequent geopolitical sanctions, Russian athletics has been under the intense microscope of World Athletics. For India—a country already fighting its own battle against a surging doping epidemic—aligning officially with Moscow was seen as a move that could trigger a “guilt by association” ban.
AFI President Adille Sumariwalla has now made it clear: there is no MOU. The federation realized that the optics of a formal partnership would be a “unforced error” of Olympic proportions.
Sources suggest that World Athletics had signaled a “yellow card” warning. If India had proceeded with the formal alliance, it could have jeopardized our athletes’ eligibility for major global meets, including the upcoming Olympic cycles. With stars like Neeraj Chopra carrying the weight of a nation’s expectations, the AFI couldn’t afford to gamble on a partnership that offered high risks and questionable returns.
But 2026 has brought an unusual silence.
For the first time in his career, Holloway did not compete in a single indoor 60m hurdles race this season—an event in which he has famously never lost. His absence immediately raised questions across the athletics world, especially given how synonymous he has become with indoor hurdling excellence.
What makes the situation even more intriguing is that, now into May 2026, Holloway is yet to open his outdoor season as well. His last recorded race remains the 110m hurdles semifinal at the World Championships in Tokyo in September 2025.
Since then, there has been little public clarity about his condition, training, or competitive plans. No major appearances. No season opener. Just speculation.
The only concrete indication of a return so far is his announced entry for the Prefontaine Classic on July 4—one of the marquee events on the Diamond League circuit.
Until then, one of track and field’s biggest stars remains a mystery.
