
AFI introduces SRY gene test for female athletes on World Athletics' directive
"This is to inform you that World Athletics has introduced the SRY gene test for athletes who wish to compete at the world ranking competitions in the female category."In this connection it is pertinent to mention that all female athletes who meet the qualification standards for the World Athletics Championships 2025 Tokyo, Japan should undergo the SRY gene test in consultation with Athletics Federation of India," the AFI said in its communication.The AFI made it clear that non-compliance will render the athletes ineligible.World athletics President Sebastian Coe while introducing the new regulation had said that, "We are saying, at elite level, for you to compete in the female category, you have to be biologically female. It was always very clear to me and the World Athletics Council thatgender cannot trump biology."Parul Chaudhary (3000m steeplechase) has already secured her spot by breaching the qualification standard, while javelin thrower Annu Rani remains in contention through the world ranking quota.- Ends
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Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
'Not a big numbers guy': Armand Duplantis explains his pole vault mindset
Armand Duplantis of Sweden (Tamas Vasvari/MTI via AP) Mumbai: Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis is the man who keeps rewriting the numbers in pole vault. 'Numbers' is putting it very lightly. They're World Records, and he has set 13 of them. But ask him about the one number everyone wants to know, his ultimate limit, and he shrugs it off. 'I'm not a big numbers guy… I don't really care about limits,' he says. 'I know there's more to come, and I'm going to keep pushing it.' Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! It's not false modesty. It's the way the 25-year-old operates. Living in the present, chasing the perfect jump, not the statistic. 'I try to maximise and achieve the most that I can in the now,' he said during an interaction with world media on Thursday. 'I think about it a lot less than you would probably imagine.' Fresh from another world record, 6.29m in Budapest, Duplantis sounds as if he has already moved on. 'I feel really good,' he says. 'Of course, I'm showing that I'm in good shape and everything's going as I would like for it at this time of the season. Super happy about the jam in Budapest. It was a super amazing night for me.' There's no long bask in the glory. 'I just have this real internal drive and motivation that I just want to keep being better,' he says. That drive comes with what he calls 'short-term memory loss' about his achievements. 'I probably don't soak in and forget my accomplishments too quickly. It takes a few days and then I just forget what I did and then I just start looking towards the next thing,' he says. 'I always figure out a way to make new goals and look forward. And it becomes probably even quicker and quicker now too.' Poll What do you think is more beneficial for a pole vaulter: technique or mental preparation? Technique Mental preparation Both equally This constant reset is, in his mind, simply 'the way that I'm built… I just always look forward in that kind of way.' Tokyo dreams Breaking a world record doesn't come with instant calm. 'It's always a bit difficult to find that deep sleep cycle after a world record because of the excitement and what not,' he admits. 'But no, I feel really good… just trying to keep pushing forward.' That push is now aimed at Tokyo, the city where he won his first Olympic gold in 2021, in front of empty stands. 'I'm super excited to go back to the stadium that I won my first Olympic gold… this time with fans,' he says, talking about the World Championships in Tokyo next month. 'I haven't been this excited about a competition, maybe ever.' The memory of that silent victory still lingers. 'It was a little bit more like a spooky and eerie type of feeling when I was in there because of all the circumstances,' he recalls. The difference, he believes, could be telling. 'I'd like to say that the spectators probably would have given me that little push to get over it,' he says of his near miss at 6.19m during those Games. Not a 'lab rat' Pole vault has been his life since childhood, guided by his parents, but Duplantis is quick to dismiss one persistent myth. 'It's a very common misconception that I was like this lab rat and I was forced to evolve from a very young age,' he says. 'I have other brothers and other siblings… my other brother was a baseball player and he liked baseball a lot more than pole vaulting. And there was no problem with that. My parents let us create our own path. ' It's why his advice to young athletes is about trying different sports and choosing what they enjoy most. 'You have to let kids be kids at the end of the day,' he says. Calm on the runway For an event that requires sprinting down a runway before vaulting over six metres, Duplantis stays strikingly calm. 'I get nervous in, like, an exciting way,' he explains. 'I don't get scared. If you're scared and you have any type of negative thoughts… that's usually a recipe for failure.' It's a mental strength he prizes as much as his technique. 'Zen is something that suits me very well and something that I can separate myself from most athletes and most jumpers,' he says. Fuel from rivals This year, Greek vaulter Emmanuel Karalis has emerged as a serious challenger. 'It's great to see… it pushes me,' Duplantis says. 'Coming off his last few meets… it gave me a lot of energy and motivation.' Still, he knows reputation alone doesn't win competitions. 'They don't just give me the trophy because I'm the favourite… I still have to go out there and I have to compete and I have to be on my A game and I have to earn my title as the one that's going to be the best and last man standing on that day every time,' he says. 'Everything's earned.' No magic number In an era where some athletics records stand for decades, Duplantis' constant progression is rare. But he insists there is no magic number taped to his bedroom wall. 'I'm not an OCD person… I like to let things just kind of happen naturally,' he says. 'I know that there's a lot more and that I'm going to keep jumping higher… but I don't really care about numbers in that way.' Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!

The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
Fresh off another world record, Duplantis ready to push boundaries again
Fresh off yet another world record mark and with a third straight world gold in his sights, pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis is ready to push the boundaries of his sport again. The gravity-defying Swede broke the world record for a 13th time on Tuesday, clearing 6.29 metres at the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest, and will be one of the biggest attractions at next month's World Championships in Tokyo. 'The natural next step would be 6.30. And I think that would be a huge barrier to cross for me and for the sport in general,' Duplantis told reporters on Thursday. 'I'll be there soon. And then I guess naturally then I'll just keep looking forward whenever I'm able to cross that, hopefully in the near future. As far as the limit, I don't really think about it.' Duplantis first put the world on notice five years ago as a 20-year-old when he cleared 6.17 for the first time, breaking Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie's previous record mark set in 2014. At the Tokyo worlds, which run from September 13-21, he will revisit the site of his Olympic breakthrough, where he won his first of two Games golds in the COVID-delayed 2021 Games. Also read | AFI asks eligible females to undergo SRY test before World Championships in Tokyo Deprived of a crowd amid public health restrictions due to the pandemic four years ago, Duplantis is eager to return with the full backing of his fans. 'I haven't been this excited about a competition maybe ever,' said Duplantis, who plans to compete in the Silesia Diamond League meet on Saturday and the top-flight circuit's finale in Zurich later this month. 'It's going to be such an amazing stadium when it's more full and has the energy of the crowd. I think that definitely should give me a good push.' Related Topics Mondo Duplantis


Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) tells women athletes to undergo SRY gene test
Representational Image of a Track field. Bengaluru: With the World Athletics Council approving new regulations for athletes to compete in the women's category for world ranking competitions, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has informed top athletes and coaches that all female athletes who make the grade should undergo 'SRY gene test' to be eligible to compete in next month's World Championships to be held in Tokyo. 'All female athletes who meet the qualification standards for the World Athletics Championships should undergo the SRY gene test in consultation with the Athletics Federation of India,' AFI said in a communication to the athletes and coaches. 'All concerned are requested to ensure compliance with the above requirement at the earliest, failing which the concerned athlete shall not be permitted to compete in the female category,' Shailesh Kumar, chairman of AFI's medical commission, said in the letter. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! AFI sources told TOI that as the final list of Indian women athletes who will qualify will be known only at the end of the qualifying period on Aug 24, the tests will be ongoing, starting with those who have already made the grade or who are on the verge of making the cut. 'All athletes have been informed about the requirement and most of these samples will be tested at the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) in New Delhi,' they said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Highest Earning College Majors—2025 Edition Best Paying Degrees | Search Ads Learn More Undo Asked if the samples would be sent abroad, the sources said NDTL is equipped to conduct the required tests. While Parul Chaudhary (3000m steeplechase) and Priyanka (35km race walk) have made the cut, Annu Rani (javelin throw) has more or less confirmed her berth through the world ranking quota. Another five athletes — Ankita (3000m steeplechase), Seema (10,000m), Shaili Singh (long jump), Vithya Ramraj (400m hurdles) and Pooja (high jump) — have kept their hopes alive and will look to give their best in the Inter-State meet beginning in Chennai on Aug 20. World Athletics announced the new test on July 30 and said the new regulations will come into effect on Sept 1, 2025 and will be applied to the Worlds that begin on Sept 13. 'All athletes wishing to compete in the female category at the World Championships are required to undergo a once-in-a-lifetime test for the SRY gene — a reliable proxy for determining biological sex,' the world body had said. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!