New Delhi, Jan 27 (PTI) A strong and productive coaching system across the country is one of the key features of Athletics Federation of India’s ‘2036 Olympic Games Roadmap’, national body president Adille Sumariwalla said on Saturday.

A day after 74 coaches successfully completed World Athletics Coaching Education Programme Level 1 Course held at Patiala’s National Institute of Sports (NIS) and KIIT University in Bhubaneswar, Sumariwalla said the AFI was on track to have at least 10,000 Level 1 coaches in next five years.

“The emphasis is on having a good coaching system across the country as there are more than 600 districts. Our goal is to have at least one Level 2 coach in each of the districts in the country,” he said.

Sumariwalla, who is one of the vice presidents at the World Athletics, applauded the support of all the stakeholders in smooth and successful conduct of the coaches’ course on a regular basis in India.

The coaching course is being conducted in coordination with World Athletics, Sports Authority of India (SAI) and support from REC Limited.

“When the AFI initiated the World Athletics Coaching Education Programme in 2018, there were 47 Level I and 11 Level 2 coaches in India,” Sumariwalla said.

“The numbers have grown now. Currently we have 1,302 Level 1 and 249 Level 2 coaches.” At present, the number of pre-Level 1 coaches is 2,700.

The Level 2 coaching course for sprints and throws will start February 10 in Thiruvananthapuram. A total of 32 candidates have enrolled themselves for the week-long World Athletics Coaching Course.

Source: PTI News