India on IAAF's radar for holding Diamond League

India might get to host the Diamond League of athletics as the glitzy showpiece, which features the top stars of the sport, needs to be taken to all major cities of the world, IAAF President Sebastian Coe said today.

Here for the ongoing Asian Games, Coe spoke to PTI about the possibility of Diamond League coming to India.

"The concentration of Diamond League or world events has historically been in European countries. We want to maintain that strength, but we have to make sure that big cities are hosting our sport, cities like Delhi, Tokyo, Beijing in Asia," Coe said.

The Diamond League is a 14-leg series in which top athletes compete for prize money and points.

It was established in 2010 to replace the Golden League to take the sport beyond Europe and as IAAF's contract with the event sponsors draws to an end, discussions are being held to take it to new cities.

"We have one more year with the Diamond League contract. Those discussions are taking place at the moment but I want to see our world events being spread around the world. I want to see the sport in big populations, in big cities and this has to be the objective," the two-time Olympic champion said.

"Next year we have Asian athletics championship in Doha, then Olympic games in Tokyo and the world indoor championship in Nanjing in 2020. Asia is going to be the focus of the sport for next four or five years," he added.

Apart from Europe, Asian countries such as China, Qatar and Morocco are already hosting Diamond League events.

Coe, who won the 1500m gold medals at the 1980 and the 1984 Olympic Games, was impressed with the rise of Indian athletes such as Hima Das and Neeraj Chopra.

"She was very impressive. I was in the stadium. In know the impact that had in India. This is a good sign, athletics is beginning to grab the consciousness of the population. I remember the CWG in 2010, you had stadiums full every night."
Asked if the format can be tried at the Asian Games too, Coe said, "Every sport is looking to do things differently. It does not always mean, it will be successful, it does not always mean that you take it to mainstream."