IAAF chief Coe asks India to promote athletics at schools

In his first official visit to a member country after assuming office in August, world athletics body IAAF chief Sebastian Coe today asked India to promote track and field sport at the school level if it wants to excel at the international stage.
Coe, who today attended the executive committee meeting of the Athletics Federation of India on his two-day visit to the country, said India should have "ambitions" to achieve success despite not being able to win a medal at the Olympics.
Asked what India can learn from Jamaica and Kenya which have become world's top athletics countries, 59-year-old Coe picked the strong tradition of track and field at the schools in these two countries.

"One of the most important ingredients is strong presence and quality of track and field in schools. In Jamaica and Kenya, there is a vibrant presence of track and field in schools. India can do the same," Coe said at the press conference after addressing the AFI officials.
"I have visited Jamaica many times and 50,000 people would watch school and college level championships there. One of the things I want to do as IAAF President is to sign MoUs with education ministers of countries to include track and field programmes in schools," said the Briton.
Coe, who won 1,500m gold at 1980 Moscow Olympics and the 1984 Los Angeles Games before becoming a vice-president of the IAAF in 2007, termed his visit to India as an emotional one.

"It is my first official visit to a member Federation. For me it is an emotional visit, my (maternal) grandfather was an Indian (Punjabi) and my mother was born in Delhi. She stayed here till she was 10. I wanted to visit India in memory of her. I am delighted to be here," said Coe, who last visited India in 2010.

Coe, who is accompanied to India by his wife, will meet Sports Ministry officials and Director General of Sports Authority of India tomorrow. A dinner will also be hosted in his honour by the AFI tomorrow.
"If I have time, I and my wife will visit Hotel Marina at Connaught Place where my mother spent her childhood," he said.

Asked why India has not won a medal in the Olympics, he said, "It's very tough to win a medal in a World Championships or the Olympics. India has a huge potential and Indian athletes should be ambitious to achieve success at the world stage and I don't see why they cannot do it. They are not far from doing that.