AFI Mandates Prior Permission for Competing or Training Abroad

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has made it mandatory for Indian athletes to obtain prior permission for competing and training abroad. Failure to do so will result in disciplinary action against the erring athlete.

The Federation must be aware of which athletes are competing abroad for several reasons. These include preventing scheduling conflicts with national commitments or trials, monitoring athletes to ensure they are not using foreign locations to evade doping measures, and addressing cases where international competitions are not officially sanctioned or lack basic infrastructure or medical safeguards. 

The new policy allows AFI to maintain performance benchmarks and ensure consistent training/monitoring standards by knowing who is competing, at what level, and how frequently. This also aids in athlete ranking, performance tracking, and fair selection. Uncoordinated participation could adversely affect athlete performance and team strategies in major competitions like the Olympics, the Asian Games, and the Commonwealth Games World Championships.

Accordingly, athletes must submit an application at least 30 days prior to the date of the competition, along with proof of an invitation. If applicable, a recommendation from the respective department or institution must also be provided. The athlete must specify the competition details while submitting the application. Each application will be reviewed, and a decision – approval or rejection – will be communicated within one week. If the decision is not communicated within that timeframe, permission will be deemed to be granted, and the athlete may proceed to participate.

AFI’s move follows incidents where athletes travelled abroad without informing the Federation. For instance, quartermiler Aishwarya Mishra recently attended a month-long camp in Loughborough but missed the designated selection event for last month’s Asian Championships. It is reported that her request for exemption from competing at the Federation Cup in Kochi was denied. Consequently, she was left out of the squads for both the Asian Championships and World Relays. Additionally, last month, Kenya’s Anti-Doping Agency apprehended an Indian national with an illegal consignment of performance-enhancing substances during a raid.