The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has announced that athletes training under unregistered coaches will no longer be recommended for national honours such as the Arjuna and Khel Ratna awards.
The move comes as part of a wider initiative to enforce accountability within the sport’s coaching ecosystem. AFI has mandated that all coaches—qualified or not—must register with the federation by July 31, 2025. Failure to comply will result in blacklisting, effectively barring such coaches from any AFI-sanctioned activities.
AFI spokesperson and former president Adille Sumariwalla emphasized the gravity of the situation, stating, “If an athlete trains with an unregistered coach, the AFI will not recommend the athlete for any national award even if they win medals. We believe even coaches and, unfortunately, sometimes parents are involved in doping. This has to stop.”
Sumariwalla, a strong advocate of criminalising doping, has called for stricter punitive measures, including jail time for offenders. “Dope cheats often go scot-free or get reduced bans through admissions. That leniency is part of the problem,” he asserted.
To enforce the directive, the AFI is introducing a unique registration ID system for all coaches and will publicly list certified individuals. An anti-doping cell will also be formed to identify suspicious coaching centres and trainers, with intelligence shared with the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) and Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).
The directive aligns with the broader goals of the recently approved Khelo Bharat Niti (National Sports Policy 2025), which emphasizes clean sport, governance accountability, and infrastructure development. However, Sumariwalla underlined that strong implementation will determine the policy’s success.
This sweeping reform signals AFI’s intent to uproot doping from the grassroots and restore credibility in Indian athletics.
