History of Indian Athletics

International Association of Athletics Federations International Association of Athletics Federations Formation 1912 Type Sports federation Headquarters Monaco Membership 212 member federations President Lamine Diack Website http://www.iaaf.org/ The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) is the international governing body for the sport of athletics. It was founded in 1912 at its first congress in Stockholm, Sweden by representatives from 17 national athletics federations as the International Amateur Athletics Federation. Since October 1993 it has been headquartered in Monaco. Beginning in 1982, the IAAF has passed several amendments to its rules allowing athletes to receive compensation for participation in international athletics competitions. However, the IAAF retained the word "amateur" in its name until its 2001 Congress at which the IAAF's title was changed to its current form. The IAAF's current president is Lamine Diack of Senegal. He became Acting President shortly after the death of the previous president, Primo Nebiolo of Italy in November 1999, and was elected IAAF President at the IAAF's 2001 Congress. Presidents Since the establishment of the IAAF, it has had five presidents: Name Country Presidency Sigfrid Edström Sweden 1912±1946 Lord Burghley United Kingdom 1946±1976 Adriaan Paulen Netherlands 1976±1981 Primo Nebiolo Italy 1981±1999 Lamine Diack Senegal 1999± The IAAF has a total of 213 member federations divided into 6 area associations. AAA ± Asian Athletics Association in Asia CAA ± Confédération africaine d'athlétisme in Africa CONSUDATLE ± Confederación Sudamericana de Atletismo in South America EAA ± European Athletic Association in Europe NACACAA ± North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association in North America OAA ± Oceania Athletics Association in Oceania Competitions Included in its charge are the standardization of timekeeping methods and world records. The IAAF also organizes many major athletics competitions worldwide, including: World Athletics Series The World Championships in Athletics is the foremost athletics competition held by the IAAF. Competition Frequency Established IAAF World Championships in Athletics Every two years 1983 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics Every two years 1985 IAAF World Cross Country Championships Every year 1973 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships Every year 1992 IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics Every two years 1986 IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics Every two years 1999 IAAF World Race Walking Cup Every two years 1961 IAAF Continental Cup Every four years 1977 = Formerly IAAF World Cup Competition Established IAAF Diamond League 2010 IAAF World Challenge Meetings 2010 IAAF Indoor Permit Meetings 2010 IAAF Label Road Races IAAF Cross Country Permit Meetings IAAF World Combined Events Challenge 1998 IAAF World Race Walking Challenge 2003 When was Amateur Athletics Federation of India established? Amateur Athletic Federation of India (AAFI) was formed in 1946 at the initiative of Maharaja Yadvindra Singh, the then President of Indian Olympic Association with Prof. G.D. Sondhi as its first President. The AAFI got affiliated to IAAF (International Amateur Athletic Federation) in the year 1946). But it followed the IOA for holding the National Athletic Championship once in two years. It was in 1949 that AAFI took the decision of holding the National Athletic Championship every year. The AAFI for the first time selected 8 athletes (6 Men 2 Women), who participated in 1948 Olympic Games at London. Indian Women competed in the Olympic Games for the first time in 1948. Coaching of athletes, training of Coaches, preparing a set of qualified Officials, bringing in foreign Coaches for training of Indian Coaches and Athletes, arranging the visit of Olympic Champions to India for guiding the Athlete and popularization of athletics. Organization of Coaching Camps for Athletes in preparation for Asian Games and Olympic Games, holding Clinics and examination for AAFI Officials were all the pioneering efforts of the Federation. The introduction of age Group Competitions, the addition of Open National Championship and Zonal and Inter Zonal Championships was the contribution of this federation. History of Indian Athletics India enjoys a long history of athletic sportsmanship from the Vedic era to the modern period, and is now actively involved in contemporary forms of athletics. The history of athletics in India dates back to the Vedic era. Although it is indeed a mystery when exactly athletics in India made its presence felt as a distinct sports form; however it can be said that the well illustrated values of the Atharva Veda contoured the limn of Indian athletics. In the Vedic age or much later in the period of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, Athletics were typically a common form of sports. Sports like chariot racing, archery, horsemanship, military tactics, wrestling, weight lifting, swimming and hunting made their presence felt quite colossally back in that era. Historical evidence unveils that Indian athletics acquired a remarkable dimension, when Buddhism held sway in India. Many interesting athletic events like archery, horse riding, and chariot-racing were in vogue during that period. Apart from these games, some other games like hiking, walking, and `gulli-danda `also made their presence felt at a later period in ancient India. Almost all these games were defined as a `must` in the military training sessions of the Indian empires, during that period. With the course of time, the nature and formation of sports in India started to change. During the medieval period in the history of Indian athletics, Indians started playing sports like running, jumping and throwing, etc. Most of these sports were actually ancestors of the track and field events of today`s athletics. All these sports were immensely popular in India, as they were quite capable of improving one`s physical fitness. Contemporary versions of track and field events began to be played regularly and in organized form in the early years of Indian independence. Till then, there were a number of phases in the history of Indian Athletics. At the initial period, games were played in grass and cinder tracks, until a gradual shift to synthetic tracks occurred. The later introduction of technology into athletics improved its status further as keeping the record of players` timing became much easier. Athletics was being played in an unorganised manner in India till Independence and it was in 1946, when Indian athletics started to be managed in an organised manner. The decade of 1940s and 1950s are most notable in the history of Indian athletics, as a number of athletics associations started their journey in India, during that period. In 1946, the Amateur Athletics Federation of India (AAFI) was established for the management of Indian athletics. It worked in collaboration with other athletics associations for improving the entire scenario of Indian athletics. Number of athletics associations started their journey in India, during that period. In 1946, the Amateur Athletics Federation of India (AAFI) was established for the management of Indian athletics. It worked in collaboration with other athletics associations for improving the entire scenario of Indian athletics. Indian athletes have made their presence felt in several international tournaments, and India has so far produced a number of successful athletes in the international level. Some of the most successful athletes in the history of Indian athletics include Milkha Singh, T. C Yohannan, Gurbachan Singh Randhawa and Sriram Singh. Some notable contemporary female athletes include P T Usha, Anju Bobby George, Jyotirmoyee Sikdar, Saraswati Saha, Soma Biswas etc. As on : 20/01/2011 Athletics in India is governed by a number of sports authorities at the national and regional levels. The bodies provide the Indian Athletes with adequate training facilities and other necessary equipments to help improving their skills. The Indian Athletic Training Centers are playing the role of backbone to Indian Athletics, as they are nurturing the young talents in the grass route level. India has a number of training centers and the Indian Athletics Training Centers operate in collaboration with the national and regional governing bodies. The centers organise different training programmes throughout the year and find out new talents in every department of Athletics. They also run some schemes that are aimed at achieving specific objectives. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Amateur Athletics Federation of India (AAFI) are counted among the most important Indian Athletics Training Centers. The SAI operates 23 training centers spread all over India and the centers are of both residential and non-residential kinds. It also operates various schemes at sub-junior, junior and senior level to widen sports and develop excellence by upgrading the skills of Indian sports persons. On the other hand, the AAFI is operating many training centers that are aimed at improving the entire scenario of Indian Athletics. .

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