A 36-member Indian track and field team will compete at the World Athletics U20 Championships 2026, scheduled to be held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, USA, from August 5 to 9.
The Indian contingent comprises 23 men and 13 women and heads to Oregon after recording its best-ever performance outside home soil at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships in May.
India finished second behind the People’s Republic of China at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships 2026 in Hong Kong China, with a haul of 19 medals, including 10 gold.
Teenage high jumper Pooja Singh, who is also the senior Asian high jump champion, will spearhead the country’s challenge in Oregon.
The 19-year-old Indian athlete won the women’s high jump gold medal at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships after clearing 1.93m to set a new senior national record and erase the championship mark that had stood since 2006.
Her winning clearance bettered the previous Indian national record of 1.92m, set by Sahana Kumari in 2012, and also secured qualification for the Commonwealth Games 2026, where she finished eighth after clearing 1.77m in difficult rainy conditions.
Asian U20 champions Nitin Gupta (men’s 5000m race walk) and Shahnavaz Khan (men’s long jump) will also be among India’s medal hopes in Oregon.
India will hope to carry that momentum into Oregon, where more than 1800 athletes from 147 member federations will compete in the largest edition of the World Athletics U20 Championships. The previous participation record of 1558 athletes was set at Lima 2024.
India fielded a 43-member squad at Lima 2024 and returned with one medal after Aarti claimed bronze in the women’s 10000m race walk.
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