India, April 29 -- The Athletics Federation of India's circular making it "mandatory for athletes to obtain prior approval from the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) before entering into any agreement or contractual arrangement with any sponsor or third party" led to much chatter.

The use of the word 'sponsor' was confusing to start with - are there sponsors lining up for our track and field stars other than Neeraj Chopra? In KPMG's 2025 Business of Sport In India report, athletics did not feature among the top five watched or the top five most played sports in India. It's not likely doors are being broken down to reach our runners and throwers and jumpers. There is a therefore a good chance that the circular is directed to the entity ...