The 1st Indian Indoor Open Combined Events and Pole Vault Competition 2026 is scheduled for May 2-3, 2026, at the Kalinga Indoor Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. This is not just another AFI meet. It is the first dedicated indoor combined events competition ever held in India, and it comes with a pole vault competition running alongside it.
Combined events athletes in India have had almost no domestic indoor platform until now. The multi-eventers who compete in the heptathlon and decathlon outdoors have historically had to travel abroad to gain any indoor combined-event experience. This meet changes that, at a venue already certified for the 2028 World Athletics Indoor Championships
Here is the complete picture: what the event covers, the disciplines involved, the venue, the athletes to watch, and why this inaugural edition matters for Indian athletics in 2026 and beyond.
1st Indian Indoor Open Combined Events and Pole Vault Competition: Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Event Name | 1st Indian Indoor Open Combined Events and Pole Vault Competition 2026 |
| Date | May 2-3, 2026 (Two-day competition) |
| Venue | Kalinga Indoor Stadium, Bhubaneswar, Odisha |
| Organiser | Athletics Federation of India (AFI) |
| Edition | Inaugural (First-ever in India) |
| Men’s Event | Indoor Heptathlon: 60m, Long Jump, Shot Put, High Jump, 60m Hurdles, Pole Vault, 1000m |
| Women’s Event | Indoor Pentathlon: 60m Hurdles, High Jump, Shot Put, Long Jump, 800m |
| Standalone Event | Pole Vault (Men and Women) |
| Why Bhubaneswar | Venue for 2028 World Athletics Indoor Championships (March 3-5, 2028) |
| Official Source | indianathletics.in |
What Are Indoor Combined Events?
Indoor combined events are multi-discipline athletics competitions contested inside a closed facility on a 200m banked track. Because several outdoor events cannot be held indoors safely (javelin, discus, hammer, and the full 400m relay), the indoor formats are condensed versions of the outdoor decathlon and heptathlon.
For men, the indoor equivalent of the decathlon is the indoor heptathlon: a seven-event competition spread across two days. For women, it is the indoor pentathlon: five events contested in a single day. Both are scored using the same World Athletics points tables as their outdoor counterparts.
The indoor format is contested at the highest levels of global athletics. The World Athletics Indoor Championships (held biennially since 1985) includes the men’s heptathlon and women’s pentathlon as headline events. This is exactly the format Bhubaneswar will host in 2028.
Events at the 1st Indian Indoor Open Combined Events and Pole Vault Competition
Men’s Indoor Heptathlon and Women’s Indoor Pentathlon
| Indoor Heptathlon (Men) | Indoor Pentathlon (Women) |
|---|---|
| Day 1: 60m Sprint | Day 1: 60m Hurdles |
| Day 1: Long Jump | Day 1: High Jump |
| Day 1: Shot Put | Day 1: Shot Put |
| Day 1: High Jump | Day 1: Long Jump |
| Day 2: 60m Hurdles | Day 1: 800m |
| Day 2: Pole Vault | — |
| Day 2: 1000m | — |
The men’s indoor heptathlon runs across two days, opening with the 60m, long jump, shot put, and high jump on Day 1, then moving to 60m hurdles, pole vault, and 1000m on Day 2. The women’s indoor pentathlon is a one-day event: 60m hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump, and 800m, in that order.
Points in both events are calculated using World Athletics scoring tables. Each performance is converted to a points score, and the athlete with the highest total points across all disciplines wins. There are no head-to-head winners in individual events; an athlete who finishes last in the 60m can still lead the overall standings if their field event performances are dominant enough.
Standalone Pole Vault Competition
Alongside the combined events, the meet also features a standalone pole vault competition for both men and women. This is significant because pole vault is one of India’s newer growth disciplines. Baranica Elangovan set a women’s outdoor pole vault national record of 4.22m at the 1st National Indoor Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar on March 24, 2026, just days ago.
The standalone pole vault at this meet gives vaulters additional competitive opportunities at a venue built with dedicated pole vault infrastructure compliant with World Athletics Category 1 standards.
Why India Has Never Had This Competition Before
The straightforward answer is infrastructure. Until 2024, India had no World Athletics-certified indoor athletics facility. Indoor combined events require a 200m banked track, a dedicated pole vault run-up, field-event landing areas, and controlled environmental conditions. None of India’s outdoor stadiums could provide this.
As a result, Indian multi-eventers have either competed exclusively outdoors or traveled to European indoor meets during the winter to stay match-ready. Tejaswin Shankar, India’s decathlon national record holder, has been among the few who actively sought indoor heptathlon experience abroad. He recorded an indoor heptathlon national record of 5,993 points on February 8, 2026, at the Tuanbo Sports Center in Tianjin, China
The completion of the Kalinga Indoor Stadium in 2024 changed the equation entirely. With the facility now in place and already certified by World Athletics, AFI had the platform to introduce indoor combined events domestically for the first time.
The Venue
Kalinga Indoor Stadium, Bhubaneswar
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Facility Name | Kalinga Indoor Stadium (Kalinga Indoor Athletics Centre) |
| Location | Kalinga Stadium Complex, Nayapalli, Bhubaneswar, Odisha |
| Inauguration | 2024 |
| Classification | South Asia’s largest indoor athletics stadium |
| Track | 200m synthetic oval track (Mondo surface), plus 100m straight practice track |
| World Athletics Certification | Category 1 (highest level for international events) |
| Seating Capacity | Approximately 1,700 spectators |
| Field Event Areas | Long jump, triple jump, pole vault, shot put (all to World Athletics Category 1 standards) |
| Additional Facilities | 60 twin-sharing rooms, weight training centre, gymnasium, motion-sensing training cameras |
| Upcoming Global Event | 2028 World Athletics Indoor Championships (March 3-5, 2028) |
The Kalinga Indoor Stadium is inside the larger Kalinga Stadium complex in Bhubaneswar’s Nayapalli area. The outdoor Kalinga Stadium already has an 8-lane synthetic athletics track and hosted the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships when Ranchi pulled out as host just three months before the event. Odisha delivered on 90 days’ notice.
The indoor facility is in the same complex but in a different building. It features a 200m synthetic oval track with banked turns, a 100m straight practice track, and designated areas for long jump, triple jump, pole vault, and shot put, all built to World Athletics Category 1 standards. The facility also has residential accommodation for over 100 athletes and motion-sensing training cameras
The Mondo track surface in the facility is worth noting specifically. Athletes competing at the March 24-25 National Indoor Championships reported a 10 to 15 centimetre benefit for jumpers due to the track’s fast runway properties. For combined events athletes who depend on explosive runway speed in the long jump, pole vault, and hurdles, this is a meaningful performance factor.
The stadium seats approximately 1,700 spectators, considerably smaller than outdoor venues. This creates an unusually close atmosphere for athletics, more like a basketball arena than a track stadium. The first indoor combined-events meet in India should make for a charged environment.
India and the 2028 World Athletics Indoor Championships
The bigger context behind this meet is India’s bid for the 2028 World Athletics Indoor Championships. On March 19, 2026, the World Athletics Council
At its meeting in Torun, Poland, officially awarded the 2028 World Athletics Indoor Championships to Bhubaneswar. The championships will take place from March 3-5, 2028, making India the first country in South Asia to host a global track-and-field showpiece.
To earn that hosting right, AFI and the Odisha government had to demonstrate that the Kalinga Indoor Stadium met World Athletics Category 1 standards. A two-member World Athletics inspection team visited the facility in January 2026 before clearing India’s bid.
AFI is also bidding to host the 2028 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships at the same venue. The Asian Athletics Association is expected to announce its decision on hosting in May 2026.
The May 2-3 combined events meet sits in a clear progression: National Indoor Championships (March) → Indoor Combined Events and Pole Vault Meet (May) → World Athletics Indoor Championships (2028). Each domestic meet builds the athlete pool, the official experience, and the public familiarity with indoor athletics at the same venue.
What This Meet Means for Combined Events Athletes in India
For combined events athletes, the impact of this inaugural meet is direct and practical.
- No more going abroad for indoor experience: Indian multi-eventers can now train on and compete at a World Athletics-certified indoor track without leaving the country.
- Qualification exposure: Performances at Category 1 venues are eligible for World Athletics recognition and rankings. A strong indoor heptathlon or pentathlon here counts in the global standings.
- AFI mandatory participation: The combined events meet the requirements for an AFI-sanctioned competition toward the mandatory participation requirements for national championships. A combined events athlete competing here has one more qualifying appearance on record for the Federation Cup or Inter-State Championships.
- Familiarity before 2028: Athletes who want to compete at the 2028 World Athletics Indoor Championships at this very venue have two years to build their indoor competition experience at the same track and facility.
Key Athletes to Watch
Tejaswin Shankar: India’s Top Combined Events Athlete
Tejaswin Shankar is India’s decathlon national record holder with 7,826 points, set at the Wieslaw Czapiewski Memorial meet in Naklo nad Notecia, Poland, on July 27, 2025. He became the first Indian decathlete to surpass 7,800 points, which placed him 30th in the men’s decathlon world rankings
More directly relevant to May 2-3: Shankar set a new indoor heptathlon national record of 5,993 points on February 8, 2026, at the Tuanbo Sports Center in Tianjin, China. That makes him the benchmark for the men’s indoor heptathlon in India heading into this inaugural domestic meet.
He also holds the men’s high jump national record of 2.29m and won the silver medal in decathlon at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea. His signature strength across multiple disciplines, especially the high jump and long jump, makes him the one to watch in both the combined events and potentially the standalone pole vault.
Baranica Elangovan: Women’s Pole Vault National Record Holder
Baranica Elangovan of Tamil Nadu set a women’s pole vault national record of 4.22m at the 1st National Indoor Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar on March 24, 2026. The 29-year-old cleared 4.10m to break the indoor national record (previously 4.02m, set in 2017), then cleared 4.22m to break the outdoor national record of 4.21m set by P. Rosy Meena in 2022
Elangovan had already met the Asian Games 2026 qualifying standard in women’s pole vault at the Indian Open Jumps Competition in Bengaluru in March, where she cleared 4.10m. However, AFI’s squad eligibility still requires a minimum of three domestic competition appearances, including at least one state championship. Her March 24 performance at the National Indoor Championships counts as one of those. The May 2-3 combined events meet at the same Kalinga Indoor Stadium, giving her another.
For the women’s standalone pole vault on May 2-3, Elangovan starts as the clear favourite and will almost certainly be attempting to push beyond 4.22m on the same track where she set the record last month.
How This Meet Connects to the Broader 2026 Season
| Date | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| March 24-25, 2026 | 1st National Indoor Athletics Championships | Kalinga Indoor Stadium, Bhubaneswar |
| March 28, 2026 | 3rd National Open Relay Competition (World Relays Trial) | Chandigarh |
| April 4, 2026 | Indian Athletics Series 1 | Bengaluru, Karnataka |
| April 24-26, 2026 | 24th National Junior Athletics Federation Competition | Bengaluru, Karnataka |
| May 2-3, 2026 | 1st Indian Indoor Open Combined Events and Pole Vault Competition | Kalinga Indoor Stadium, Bhubaneswar |
| May 2-3, 2026 | World Athletics Relays 2026 (India relay teams compete) | Gaborone, Botswana |
| May 9, 2026 | Indian Athletics Series 5 | New Delhi |
| May 22-25, 2026 | 29th National Senior Athletics Federation Championships (CWG Trials) | Ranchi, Jharkhand |
| August 22, 2026 | World Athletics Continental Tour Silver Level Meet | Bhubaneswar, Odisha |
| July 23 to August 2, 2026 | Commonwealth Games 2026 | Glasgow, Scotland |
| September 19 to October 4, 2026 | Asian Games 2026 | Aichi-Nagoya, Japan |
| March 3-5, 2028 | World Athletics Indoor Championships | Kalinga Indoor Stadium, Bhubaneswar |
★ = This article’s event. Sources: indianathletics.in, sportzpower.com, newkerala.com, olympics.com
The May 2-3 meet falls on the same weekend as the World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, Botswana. That is not a conflict: relay specialists are in Botswana while combined events athletes are in Bhubaneswar. The two-day scheduling actually maximises India’s competitive presence across disciplines on the same weekend.
The meet also arrives just three weeks before the Federation Cup in Ranchi (May 22-25), the final selection trial for the Commonwealth Games. For combined events athletes (decathletes and heptathletes), the Federation Cup provides the final indoor competition reps before shifting to the outdoor championship season.
How to Register and Access Information
AFI will publish all entry information for the 1st Indian Indoor Open Combined Events and Pole Vault Competition through the official circular system. As of March 2026, the federation has not released the event circular. It will appear on the Circular 2026 page once published.
- Official Website: indianathletics.in
- 2026 Circulars: indianathletics.in/circular_category/circular-2026
- Competition Calendar PDF:indianathletics.in/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/COMPETITION-CALENDAR-2026.pdf
- AFI Events Page:indianathletics.in/afi-events
- Results (post-meet):indianathletics.in/results
An AFI press release from November 25, 2025, confirmed that Bhubaneswar will host the inaugural edition of the Indoor Open Combined Events and Pole Vault Competition in May.
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The 1st Indian Indoor Open Combined Events and Pole Vault Competition 2026 is genuinely new territory for Indian athletics
Multi-eventers have never had a domestic indoor combined events meet before this, and pole vaulters have rarely had a Category 1 indoor venue to compete at on home soil.
The timing is deliberate. AFI is building toward the 2028 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Bhubaneswar, and this May 2026 meet is one of the first competitive milestones on that path. Every athlete who competes at the Kalinga Indoor Stadium in May gains experience at the same facility that will host one of the biggest indoor athletics events in the world two years later.
For all updates, circulars, and results, visit indianathletics.in.
