Around 90 per cent of the synthetic tracks currently in use in the country are substandard in terms of material, laying and marking, Athletics Federation of India (AFI) spokesperson Adille Sumariwalla said on Saturday.

Sumariwalla said World Athletics has asked the AFI to get involved and address the issue, though he clarified that performances recorded on such tracks would not be annulled.

“I’m not going to name the tracks, but I can tell you that more than 90 per cent of tracks in India are substandard material-wise, laying-wise and marking-wise. We had a meeting with World Athletics in Tokyo last year during the World Championships, and they showed us some data, which was quite shocking,” Sumariwalla said during a virtual press conference.

“The material used is substandard, the process is substandard, the granules used are substandard and the laying methodology is substandard. The thickness is also substandard. In some cases, instead of polyurethane, only rubber or tyre rubber is being used.

“We have seen tracks where tyre rubber is used underneath and only red paint is applied on top. It’s that bad. Over time, such tracks will deteriorate and, within a few months, become unusable.”

He said the AFI, during its Annual General Meeting in Kohima on April 14 and 15, decided to step in and take a role in track certification.

“World Athletics was not happy with the quality being certified. So the AFI will now help in certifying and ensuring that all standards of measurement and quality are met,” said the former AFI president, who is now a vice-president of World Athletics.

“We are working out how we are going to go about it. Many operators are fly-by-night vendors, not proper suppliers. We need to assess the quality of vendors. We will likely come out with a list of genuine vendors worldwide whose materials can be used.

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“We also conducted a course with foreign experts in India to help our officials understand how a track is to be measured and tested, and what needs to be done during the laying process.”

Sumariwalla said the AFI had not been involved in track certification earlier.

“We stayed away from this for a long time, because the way contracts were awarded was not something we wanted to get into. We have never certified any track earlier. However, we will now have to get involved because World Athletics has asked us to do so.”

When asked if the recently laid Mondo track at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was under scrutiny, he said, “I don’t know. I’m not going to get into details on which track and where.”

He clarified that India already has World Athletics-certified tracks, which do not require re-certification.

“Substandard means the quality is not good. It may be too soft or too hard. That does not affect World Athletics recognition, but instead of lasting 10 years, the track may deteriorate in two years and need relaying.

“You will not get good performance if tyre rubber is used instead of polyurethane. The performance will be slower,” Sumariwalla said.

Earlier this month, the AFI had made it mandatory for track and field athletes to obtain prior approval before entering into sponsorship agreements, including with private entities.

However, Sumariwalla said the decision was put on hold during the AGM in Kohima.

“The AFI had a healthy discussion and we decided to have further consultation. We will keep this open for the next three months.

“We want to address all concerns through a broader consultation process.”

He added that the AFI does not derive any benefit from the sponsorship deals signed by athletes.

Published on Apr 18, 2026